Investigation into the Animal Liberation Front raid of UI labs is “officially closed”
Six years, over 200 FBI interviews, and several house raids and jail terms later, the FBI has officially closed the investigation into the 2004 Animal Liberation Front raid of the University of Iowa – without a conviction.
To put it another way: the A.L.F. pulled off one of the largest lab raids in U.S. history – and got away with it.
“Despite an extensive FBI investigation, it is increasingly unlikely anyone will be prosecuted for a 2004 break-in at a University of Iowa lab where activists released hundreds of animals and destroyed years of research”
In a conversation last week, an AP reporter put it to me more succinctly:
“The FBI told me they have officially closed the investigation into the University of Iowa incident.”
And the FBI gives this “saving-face” quote:
“active investigation of the attack on the University of Iowa Laboratory has been completed”
One false arrest and several house raids later…
This news from the FBI comes less than three months after they dropped charges against Scott DeMuth, the only person charged for a role in the raid. DeMuth was charged just three days before the state of limitations was to expire, despite DeMuth being just 17 at the time of the raid.
During the investigation the FBI interviewed over 200 people, subpoenaed at (more…)
The much-anticipated A.L.F. film Bold Native is out on DVD.
(Update 11-30: the Animal Liberation Front-line store is now accepting international orders for Bold Native)
This is big.
After numerous sold-out screenings around the country, the first fiction feature film on the Animal Liberation Front is now out on DVD.
Much hyped and talked-about, the Bold Native DVD is in our hands and ready to ship from the Animal Liberation Front-line store: $19.95. The most appreciated, inspiring gift you will give this year.
If you haven’t yet heard of Bold Native, the film follows Charlie Cranehill, an animal liberator wanted for domestic terrorism, who emerges from the underground to coordinate a nationwide action as his estranged CEO father tries to find him before the FBI does.
All orders received by December 18th will arrive in time for Christmas.
I’ve seen Bold Native four times now, and behind all the celebrity endorsements and hype is an authentic, inspirational film with an urgent message made by sincere people.
DVD includes:
– The Movie!
– Deleted & Extended Scenes
– Behind the Scenes Features
– Filmmakers’ Commentary
– Farm to Fridge Doc (by Mercy For Animals)
– “Holy Crap! I Wanna Go Vegan” with Rory Freedman, John Salley, and Tonya Kay
– Where Are They Now? features on piglet Jumper and calf Casanova
Just before Thanksgiving, the Animal Rights Militia liberates 20 turkeys in Vermont
After a year that saw few liberations of domesticated animals, the Animal Rights Militia liberated 20 turkeys from a roadside pen in Vermont. The liberation came just hours before the turkeys were to be killed.
Tires on a mobile slaughter vehicle were also slashed.
“During the early morning hours of November 14th, members of VT ARM liberated 20 turkeys that had been cruelly forced into a small pen without shelter. The pen had been set up along side a road as a marketing ploy. The decision to liberate the turkeys was made after it was learned that they were to be murdered that morning. It took the extraction team less than 5 minutes to breach the fence and liberate the turkeys. As a parting gift members of ARM slashed the tires of the mobile slaughter house, which had been parked less then 20 meters away, while the drive sat in the front seat smoking. Uncle Sam spent thousands training us to be the best and now those who think they can profit off the suffering of animals will learn that we are. We will use whatever means necessary to liberate animals, prevent cruelty and punish those who commit acts of cruelty. To the Bushway criminals, Happy Thanksgiving.”
Read the 10-page plea agreement in the Walter Bond A.L.F. case
After being set up by his brother for three A.L.F. arsons, Walter Bond pleaded guilty last Thursday to arson and Animal Enterprise Terrorism charges for his role in burning down the Sheepskin Factory store in Denver.
The newly-released plea agreement sheds some new light on the case, including:
*That Bond acted alone in the Sheepskin Factory arson
In the plea agreement, the government submits the following (some of which Walter Bond contests):
*Walter Bond broke through a door, entered, and set the Sheepskin Factory store on fire
*The fire destroyed the building, and damages were $500,000
*Walter Bond appeared to match the general height and weight of a person caught on surveillance video near the scene
*In a phone call, Walter Bond referred his brother to Animal Liberation Front-Line (formerly Voice of the Voiceless) when asked what he’d “been up to”.
*Walter Bond’s brother setting up a monitored meeting with Bond, in which Bond confessed to three A.L.F. fires. Video and audio of the entire meeting was surreptitiously videotaped by the ATF.
*Walter Bond using a stolen library card to send a communique from a library computer, sending the communique “to a party in Florida to have it posted”.
“Facts” in dispute
Towards the end, the plea agreement lists three “exceptions” to the “agreement”, allegations which Walter Bond denies. These are:
*Referring his brother specifically to Animal Liberation Front-Line (formerly Voice of the Voiceless), rather than to other news articles on the Sheepskin Factory arson.
*”Posting” any message about two other Utah fires.
*”Communicating via websites and posting information via third parties”.
Suspiciously, the government seems to be attempting to put words in Bond’s mouth on a seemingly insignificant point: Whether he told his brother specifically to look up Animal Liberation Front-Line (formerly Voice of the Voiceless), or merely to look up articles on the Sheepskin Factory fire in the general sense. Bond states the latter, while the government submits the former. What their interest in naming Animal Liberation Front-Line in the plea bargain is remains to be seen.
Animal Liberation Front-Line named again
The plea agreement states erroneously that Walter Bond “posted” a communique on Animal Liberation Front-Line (formerly Voice of the Voiceless). In fact I never received any communiques for this or any other “A.L.F. Lone Wolf” action, and all communiques posted were borrowed from other websites. I’m sure the FBI has subpoenaed all email records for this website, and in submitting “facts” they know to be false, they have perjured themselves.
Bond’s likely sentence
The plea bargain concludes with a sentencing computation. Given Bond’s criminal history and mandatory minimum sentence, the sentencing guidelines call for a prison term of 5 to 8 years. The judge has discretion to go above the guidelines, and this range is merely a suggestion.
Bond’s sentencing is set for February 11th in Denver. He has requested the attendance of his supporters. Information on the court date will be posted as the date approaches.
Landmark A.L.F. / animal liberation film makes its Northern California debut
I haven’t talked about Bold Native for awhile for one reason: the rest of the world already is.
You’ve already heard the buzz from the people who have seen screenings of Bold Native, the first animal liberation-themed feature film. I want to make sure everyone is aware of this week’s San Francisco premier, worth it for the speakers alone. Here are the details:
What:
Bold Native San Francisco screenings x2
When:
November 18th
7pm & 9:30pm
Who:
Speakers include filmmakers Casey Suchan and Denis Hennelly, former SHAC prisoner Jake Conroy, and author John Robbins.
The article is published in ALN, a trade publication for animal research labs. The magazine focuses solely on animal research, with articles on everything from new cage cleaning devices to threats from the animal rights movement.
The author carried out a security audit at several unnamed research labs, in which he attempted to gain access. He then reported some of his findings in the ALN article, titled “Determined Aggressor Assessment“.
Here are a few findings from the author’s attempts to access animal research labs:
Using a fake ID
“Using an Avery label, a hotel’s color printer, and Microsoft Word, I was able to make a realistic photo ID badge within one hour, which allowed me to gain access to the facility…. I was never challenged at any time”.
In April, 1989, the Animal Liberation Front executed the largest raid of a U.S. lab in history: breaking into five buildings, setting two on fire, and rescuing over 1,200 animals. In this little-read article, the A.L.F. explains in detail how they carried out this monumental action.
This is being posted as a teaser for an upcoming book project. The details are private for the moment while the project nears completion, but this article (more…)
Information is sparse, but an anonymous communique received by the Animal Liberation Press Office today states there was a break-in last night at California Institute of Technology (Cal Tech) labs near Los Angeles.
The message stated only that various documents were taken along with the codes for security doors at the facility.
Cal-Tech is a notorious research university in Pasadena, California, which kills thousands of animals annually. Read the 2008 USDA document listing the species and numbers of animals killed here (note the report does not list animals not covered under the Animal Welfare Act, including mice and rats, which make up over 90% of animals killed in most labs).
The three-line communique reads:
“Last night there was a break in at CalTech research facility. Various papers and door codes were taken. A note was left that states “YOUR TIME IS DRAWING NEAR.”
The communique does not appear to have been signed by the Animal Liberation Front, or other clandestine group.
The incident comes after a long lull in anti-vivisection actions in the Los Angeles area, which in recent years saw numerous arsons and other actions in the name of the A.L.F., Animal Rights Militia, and other groups.
Police pay activists $200 each after giving unlawful order at a frequent A.L.F. target
Staff at the Utah Fur Breeders Cooperative took offense to a recent protest by the Salt Lake Animal Advocacy Movement, calling police. Workers at the mink feed plant, targeted at least four times by the Animal Liberation Front (including the $1 million bombing in 1997), apparently objected to chants such as “What goes around, comes around – you got burned to the ground”.
Police arrived and ordered activists to leave. The order was unlawful, and activists promptly sued the Unified Police of Greater Salt Lake.
The police, fighting a case they couldn’t win, settled out of court and were ordered to pay more than$15,000. Included was an order for $200 to be paid to each activist.
While police work overtime to stifle lawful dissent and legal protests, images like these represent a rare moment of triumph:
News coverage from Animal Liberation Front raid on an Oregon deer farm
Watch news coverage on this week’s raid of a deer farm in Molalla, Oregon. In this video, the farmer claims no deer were released from the outdoor pen where fences were cut by the A.L.F. September 9th. The portion of farm where fences were cut, he says, housed no deer that night.
I have commented recently on the trend of A.L.F. targets denying raids occurred, or downplaying the success of A.L.F. actions. It is worth asking if that is the case here.
While admitting to raising the deer for the purpose of killing them, the farmer says of releasing the animals:
In a communique received today by the Animal Liberation Press Office, the Animal Liberation Front took credit for cutting fences and releasing an entire herd of deer from a farm in Molalla, Oregon.
This is the second recorded deer liberation in the U.S. The first occurred in 2005, when the A.L.F. liberated an entire herd of deer from the GNK Deer Ranch in Monterey County, California. The communique in that raid stated, in part:
The pen was located in the rear of the property and over 1/4 of the fence was cut away, releasing the deer into the mountainous countryside.
This A.L.F. action is the first reported in Oregon since the July arson at the Ylipelto’s Fur Farm, in which several pieces of equipment, a vehicle, and a building were set on fire.
The full communique for this week’s Oregon deer liberation is as follows:
“On the morning of October 9th, we raided a deer farm located at 32155 S Grimm Road in Molalla, OR. A large section of fencing was stripped away allowing the captive deer herd a chance to escape into the surrounding forest. The venison meat industry remains small in this country, but as long as they exploit sentient animals, they will remain a target of the ALF. For the animals enslaved, mutilated, and murdered by this society: we will be tearing down the fences to set them free. –Animal Liberation Front”
Over a week after information surfaced about 400 mink being released from a Washington fur farm, the Animal Liberation Front issued a communique taking credit.
The full communique is as follows:
“In the early hours September 9th 2010 the ALF paid a visit to the Beck’s fur farm in Granite Falls, WA. Thanks to the news reports we know that we released aprox. 400 of the mink there and all we can say is that it wasn’t enough. We wish that there had been time that night to free all the prisoners that hell hole contains. We are heart broken for everyone left behind but take solace in the fact that we will do better the next time.
This action is dedicated to one who will only be known as
x/one blue/one brown/all heart/x
ALF”
Industry sources first reported that 400 mink were released from an unnamed fur farm on September 9th. Local media soon reported the target as the Harvey Beck mink farm in Granite Falls, Washington.
The last reported fur farm raid in Washington state was in November, 2007, when an estimated 150 to 200 mink were released from a mink farm in Deming, Washington owned by Dale Marr. The largest mink release in Washington occurred in 2003, when 10,000 mink were released from the Roesler Brothers fur farm in Sultan.
Time for mink on America’s fur farms is running short. Animal liberators will feel increaing urgency in the coming months as late-November approaches, and the pelting season will begin. As the clock ticks towards execution day for all mink on fur farms, the next two months mark the last of the unofficial fur farm raiding season.
One false arrest and several house raids later…
