Walter Bond is charged with two more arsons in Utah
In an unsurprising development, Walter Bond has been charged with the remaining two arsons claimed by the “A.L.F. Lone Wolf” – the Tandy Leather Factory, and Tiburon (foie gras restaurant), both in the Salt Lake City area.
Bond faces two counts of arson and two counts of force, violence and threats involving animal enterprises.
$30,000 in damages was done to the Tandy Leather Factory in early June when someone broke in and set the building on fire. $10,000 damages was inflicted on the Tiburon restaurant in July, when it too was broken into and set on fire. Both arsons were claimed by the Animal Liberation Front.
Bond was arrested in July after allegedly being caught on tape admitting to his brother that he was responsible for all three arsons. It has been speculated since his arrest that charges for the remaining two Utah arsons would be forthcoming.
This comes just days after Bond’s attorney filed a notice that he intends to plead guilty to the Sheepskin Factory arson in Denver, the first in a string of three arsons claimed by the “A.L.F. Lone Wolf”. It is not yet clear how the new charges will affect Bond’s announced guilty plea.
If found guilty, Bond could potentially receive twenty years in prison for each count of arson with a five year minimum. In addition, the animal enterprise counts carry potential five years each.
Federal prosecutors expect Bond to be transferred to Utah to face today’s indictment when the Colorado case is resolved.
The following essay describes accused Animal Liberation Front activist Walter Bond’s conversion to veganism in small-town Iowa. In it, He explains that this awakening followed an atypical course: Bond used to build slaughterhouses.
In the winter of 1995, when I was 19 years old, I got a job with a company by the name of Dakota Mechanical. We built slaughter-houses in the Midwest, mainly in Iowa. The state of Iowa is the largest producer of pork in the nation. At the time I was employed in that evil industry there were 27 slaughter-houses for pigs alone. I helped build the IBP plant in Logansport, Indiana as well. It was a brand new plant.
I never saw an animal murdered in the 9 or so months I worked in Logansport, but it wasn’t difficult for me to get the gist of what many of those machines would do when in operation. I was primarily a forklift operator to begin with, but then worked my way to industrial plumber’s apprentice. After that factory was built there was a three month layoff.
But soon I got the call for the next job. The one that would forever change my life. It was a smaller job; we were to build an extension to the kill floor at the IBP plant in Perry, Iowa. In this fully functioning slaughter-house I saw the most grizzly mechanized murders that there are to witness. Since it was an old facility we were constantly called away from our construction work to do maintenance throughout the plant. From the pen runs, to the kill floor, to rendering, over the course of 5 months I was a confederate and accomplice to it all.
When I first started the smells, sights, and sounds were overbearing. I kept telling myself, “This is what you eat; don’t get squeamish.” Within 6 to 8 weeks I felt soul dead. For 12 hours, sometimes 15, I often worked ankle deep in gore.
Like the 3 days I worked plumbing rinse stations with 40 gallon drums of de-skinned hogs’ heads staring at me.
Or the times I would have to take the forklift behind the facility to gather raw materials, right next to which was a 25 foot pile of ‘defective’ hogs which were ‘unfit for human consumption.’ For one reason or another they were left in heaping piles, exposed to the elements and freezing to death in the Iowa cold. With all the horrors to which I was privy, it’s that pile of freezing dead that still haunts my soul.
Then came the day that changed me. We were wrapping up all our tools and cleaning up when a hog who had been knocked out with an electric jolt, had his throat stuck, and had been hung upside down to bleed to death woke up, convulsed, and freed himself of the foot-hold. He came running off of the kill floor straight toward me and the rest of the crew. Three IBP workers gave chase. One with a pipe wrench and two with baseball bats. They began to beat the hog to death. I turned away as I thought anyone would……I was wrong. As I turned, I was face to face with the rest of my crew. While listening to the thuds and squeals of a blunt force death a mere 30 feet behind me, I watched as my co-workers whooped and cheered, high-fiving each other each time there was a thud, laughing and celebrating the violent death of a sentient being.
That night in my hotel room my mind raced. I was disgusted with myself. I was disgusted with humanity. I quit eating meat. A few days later my foreman approached me and asked if I need to borrow any money. I said, “No, why do you ask?” He said that he’d noticed that all I’d been eating was peanut butter and jelly and that he thought I was broke. I told him that I wasn’t broke and that I was simply done eating meat. He began heckling me and calling me a “born-again tree hugger.” I quit on the spot.
I went home and began to study Animal Rights. I went vegan and became active in a legal capacity. I spent years tabling and talking with people. I worked at animal sanctuaries and rescued animals whenever I could.
I have never felt that anything I have done or will do on behalf of our Mother Earth and her animal nations has been enough. Those machines I built back in 1996 are still murdering, even as I write this. That is my guilt and my shame; I earned them. But it is also my strength and resolve. Nothing will ever make me forget the plight of factory farmed animals and so-called free range, which is just as sick, wrong, unnecessary, and indefensible.
Like all industries of animal exploitation, the circle of abuse will end with the antagonist (humans) falling prey to its own perfidiousness. For instance, my grandfather was a hog farmer whom I never met. He died in the year of my birth, after the ammonia from hog waste destroyed his lungs. That same waste run-off from his and adjoining hog farms in the 70’s poisoned the ground water, allowing illegal levels of radium to pollute the tap water. To this day in certain areas of the Midwest you have to sign a waiver stating that the water from public works is hazardous to your health and that you are “OK” with that before they will turn your water on.
I’ve said it before, but it’s worth restating. It is these industries of death that are the animal and Earth terrorists. Not those who fight against them.
Walter Edmond Bond
PO Box 16700
Golden, CO 80402-6700
As of August 10, 2010, Walter Bond is facing a single federal arson charge for his alleged role as an ALF operative known as “Lone Wolf”. “Lone Wolf” took credit for three different arsons throughout the Spring and Summer of 2010 in Denver and Salt Lake City: The Skeepskin Factory, a store selling furs and pelts; Tandy Leather Store; and Tiburon, a restaurant serving foie gras.
Walter’s brother alerted the FBI and the ATF about his suspicions that his brother, Walter, was behind the attacks. While Walter was visiting Denver in July 2010, his brother helped participate in a sting operation, allegedly wearing a wire and helping procure audio evidence against Walter. He was arrested in Denver and is now being held in the Jefferson County Jail in Golden, Colorado awaiting trial.
Walter has been a dedicated animal rights activist and anarchist for several decades and has struggled for animal liberation and against a deadly and genocidal culture of drug abuse in the United States. Walter was the subject of a song by the vegan straight edge band Earth Crisis. The band’s song “To Ashes” was inspired by Bond’s 1998 prison sentence for arson. Bond was convicted of burning down a meth lab owned by a drug dealer who was selling to his brother (not the same brother as the snitch).
Two months after being sentenced to 21 months for an Animal Liberation Front mink liberation, Alex Hall has arrived at a federal prison in Littleton, Colorado. Hall was convicted for the release of 650 mink from the McMullin Fur Farm in South Jordan, Utah.
Hall’s “case manager” in Littleton has told him he “will be lucky” to get two months in a halfway house, and that he can expect to be released no sooner than December. Meanwhile, Hall’s co-defendant, William Viehl, has been told he will be released to a halfway house in September, despite being arrested only two weeks before Hall. This arbitrary calculation of release dates based on the personal and political biases of B.O.P. staff is not uncommon.
Please write Alex Hall during the last months of his incarceration at his new address:
Alex Hall
15908-081
FCI ENGLEWOOD
FEDERAL CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION
9595 WEST QUINCY AVENUE
LITTLETON, CO 80123
“Thanks so much for your letter of support. While obviously I cannot talk about my case, the government of the United States will not scare me into submission nor will I be silenced. I have already written to Peter about the day of my arrest as to clear the record and set straight the media’s lies about BBQ’s and what not, so I will not reiterate it here. I let Peter know to share that info with any interested party.
I am facing some very serious charges and allegations at this time and if convicted, sentencing could be quite severe. Nevertheless, I am in good spirits. Having the privilege of being a United States prisoner, I still have it better than most 3rd World people do in their homelands. And nothing they do to me could even come close to the plight of animals.
For my part, I shall never relent in the fight for their total freedom. Any activist that is truly effective at resisting or disrupting these horrible blood trades may face persecution. There is no cause to despair in any of this. When you are trying to change the status quo, self-sacrifice is the price of admission.
In the end our cause will win. Either humanity will perish after having ruined the biosphere and our Mother Earth will heal and continue without us or those who profess to be Earth and animal warriors will prove it and change the current of world history, as so many social justice movements before us have done.
However, we will not win simply because we are right. Progress only occurs because of courage and confrontation.
Feel free to share this letter with any interested party, in whole or in part. I hope to hear from you soon. I can receive literature and media (news articles, etc), but only printed from the computer. No newspaper clippings, magazines, etc. I forgot to mention that to Peter. If you could pass that along I would appreciate it. Also, any monetary support would be much appreciated as well.
Regards,
Walter Bond
After being denied bail, Walter Bond will likely remain in Jefferson County Jail (Golden, CO) until his trial. Write Walter Bond a letter of support:
Walter Edmund Bond
PO Box 16700
Golden, CO 80402-6700
Animal Liberation Front-line was created to spotlight under-covered news in the animal liberation movement. Among the core missions of the site is to bring attention to activists who find themselves in legal trouble fighting for animals. I strive to avoid redundancy and not contribute to the info-overload of the internet age by avoiding reposts, yet this commentary on the recent case of a dedicated activist named Bryan Monell is worth spotlighting.
Please read about the arrest and serious charges Bryan Monell faces on his support site.
“A recent arrest in Southern California has been added to the list of repressive arrests. It inspired me to write this post.
Please read and consider donating to help this activist, Bryan Monell. (Read his bio on this page to see the sort of dedication we should all aspire to). And most importantly, don’t forget the punchline: WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT STOP YOUR WORK. DO NOT BE SILENCED. THE ACTIVISTS & ANIMALS NEED YOU.
It is imperative that activists support other activists. If we don’t support each other in times of need our movement will die… and if our movement dies the animals have no hope.
Intimidation tactics, false arrests, harsh sentences and the genesis of laws that violate the first amendment are all attempts to silence activists. If our voices are silenced, the goals we have can never be met. We must, as a movement, combat this repression. (See Will Potter’s journalism to get caught up on repression of the environmental and animal rights movements).We cannot react by silencing ourselves. When our compatriots are harassed or imprisoned we need to be pro-active and support them with all we’ve got.
The repression we face can be scary, but we cannot let fear override the work we need to do. By creating a supportive community in which we all know that, no matter how bad it gets, our community will love us and support us, we can all bravely move forward.
Part of working in solidarity means we leave no one behind, alone or without support. When an activist arrest happens, we need to help by donating/and or raising funds for good legal council, by writing letters to judges on their behalf, by refusing any coercive techniques, such as grand jury testimonies, and by keeping up with our activism. When activists are in jail we need to hold vigil by writing to them, keeping financial support coming their way, and giving them all the support they need when they are released.
Another way to be pro-active is to be prepared. Though you may never do anything illegal there is always a chance you can be arrested or questioned by authorities. Check out The Informed Activist for a 411 on how you can protect yourself and your fellow activists.
Please don’t let down the movement or the animals by giving up and letting tactics of repression win out over doing what is morally correct.
WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT STOP YOUR WORK. DO NOT BE SILENCED.
In his first written statement from jail, the accused A.L.F. “Lone Wolf” reveals new details about his case
In a new letter from jail (excerpts posted below), Walter Bond addresses several lingering questions surrounding his A.L.F. case. Among them, the circumstances of his arrest, quotes made about him by “friends” to the media, and: the identity of the informant who set him up.
Bond sits in jail on arson and Animal Enterprise Terrorism charges, accused of being the Animal Liberation Front “Lone Wolf”, responsible for three arsons at animal abuse targets in Utah and Colorado. To date, Bond has been charged only in the Denver Sheepskin Factory arson.
The informant
Walter Bond was arrested after what court documents say was a set-up by a friend. The “friend” allegedly enticed Bond into a monitored conversation in which Bond allegedly admitted to three A.L.F. arsons. This set-up was orchestrated by the ATF. The informant had only been identified to date as someone Bond had not seen in 12 years. In his letter from jail, Bond reveals the identity of the informant, and other details of his arrest.
Excerpts from Walter Bond’s jail statement
The details surrounding his arrest:
“The day of my arrest I was on my way to see my brother. We hadnt’ seen each other for 12 years, and he had told me that he was coming to Denver to help our half-brother [name redacted] move. He had told me that he was bringing my nephews I had never met. I left [location redacted] thinking I was going to begin healing the very deep wounds of my shattered family. I was wrong. My brother [name redacted] had been working for the ATF since July 1st.
On my way to the hotel he was at, the police stopped me because I was on a ‘bulletin’. They quesioned me mostly about veganism, and my tattoos. I refused to say anything except ‘I have nothing to say’. They searched me and let me go. I later realized I was only released so that I could walk down the street and into an ATF set-up.”
On statements made to the media by “friends”:
“I found out from a visitor today that Billy Jo has been spinning fanciful tales about me. First off, I was not at her house. Next, I am vegan as everyone that has ever met or known me can attest. I was not at a BBQ nor was I even at Jim and Billy Jo’s house. I was simply arrested on their front lawn. In two years time I have spoken to Billy Jo a grand total of perhaps two-dozen sentences…. My guess is that given her shady nature the ATF scared her into trying to discredit me. Altogether predictable and honestly of little consequence to me. Those who know me know what I stand for.”
On vegan food and support:
“I am being fed a vegan diet and of course the food is less than desirable. I have no money on my books and I can really use some for ramen noodles, envelopes, etc. Other than money and letters of support I don’t need anything from the outside.”
On animal liberation:
“Obviously I can not talk about my ongoing case / cases, but I will say this: the charges I face are serious. Accordingly so is the time that goes along with them. However nothing they can do to me can ever compare with what animals endure at the hands of speciesist human oppressors. Please use any means at your disposal to use whatever [illegigble] surrounding my case to bring awareness to the plight of animals. I am vegan and an animal liberation activist, and shall never relent in the fight for the total freedom of non-human animals.”
Support
After being denied bail, Walter Bond will likely remain in Jefferson County Jail (Golden, CO) until his trial. Write Walter Bond a letter of support:
Walter Edmund Bond
PO Box 16700
Golden, CO 80402-6700
As soon as the procedure for donating money to Bond’s jail account is learned, it will be posted.
New indictment adds Animal Enterprise Terrorism charge against Walter Bond
With little notice from the media, the Department of Justice quietly issued a formal indictment last week against Walter Bond for the arson of a Denver Sheepskin Factory store. The indictment follows the less-formal “criminal complaint” which preceded it.
A look at the indictment reveals a new turn to the case: an added charge of doing more than $100,000 damage to an animal enterprise, in violation of the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act. To date, it is only the fourth time charges have been filed under the AETA.
Bond was arrested on July 22nd, accused of being the A.L.F. “Lone Wolf”, responsible for arsons at Sheepskin Factory (CO), Tandy Leather Factory (UT) and Tiburon (foie gras restaurant) (UT). An informant allegedly staged a recorded meeting with Bond in which he admitted to the three A.L.F. arsons. To date, Bond has only been charged in the Sheepskin Factory arson. He has been ordered held without bail until trial.
Additional charges against Walter Bond for the Utah A.L.F. arsons are possible.
– Peter Young
Please write Walter Bond during this difficult time:
Walter Bond pleads “not guilty”, judge orders him held without bail until trial
In a court appearance today in Colorado, Walter Edmund Bond, the accused A.L.F. “Lone Wolf”, pleaded “not guilty” to charges he burned down a Sheepskin Factory store in April. The fire did $500,000 in damages to the uninsured building and its contents.
The judge also ordered Bond held without bail until trial.
Bond is also a suspect in two other Animal Liberation Front arsons: the Tandy Leather Factory arson in Salt Lake City ($20,000 damages), and foie gras restaurant Tiburon in Sandy, Utah ($10,000 damages).
The average federal case takes 14 months to run its course. It is expected Bond will be held for the duration of his case. Please send letters of support to Walter Bond in jail:
Walter Edmund Bond
PO Box 16700
Golden, CO 80402-6700
After five days of his whereabouts being unknown, we have learned Walter Bond, the alleged A.L.F. “Lone Wolf”, is being held at a county jail in Golden, Colorado. Please write him a letter of support during this trying time.
Walter Edmund Bond
PO Box 16700
Golden, CO 80402-6700
Please remember all mail is opened and read. Mail restrictions posted below.
Mail rules (reposted from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office)
Personal Incoming Mail All incoming mail is opened and inspected for contraband and incoming funds. There are no restrictions on the number of letters you may receive, but there are size and content restrictions. Letter and legal size envelopes are acceptable.
Outgoing or incoming mail may be rejected and returned to sender if there is reason to believe that it may contain inappropriate materials, including but not limited to:
Plans for the introduction of contraband.
Plans for criminal activity.
Threats of extortion.
Instruction for the manufacture of weapons, drugs, drug paraphernalia, explosives or alcohol beverages.
Plans for escape or unauthorized entry.
Codes not understood by the scanner, to include gang graffiti or “tagging”.
Plans for activities in violation of facility rules.
Information, which if communicated, would create serious danger of violence and/or harm to any person.
Mail which contains potentially infectious and/or offensive materials (body fluids, etc.).
Sexually explicit photographs.
Material which promotes racial conflict or discrimination.
Materials which may disrupt the operation and/or safety and security of the facility.
Illegal gang materials.
Items not authorized for retention, ie., stickers, stamps, envelopes, blank paper, laminated plastic, newspaper/magazine clippings, musical cards, cards larger than 8″ x 11″, or Polaroid pictures.
An excess of three pictures, or pictures larger than 4″ x 6″.
Money orders sent, other than the allowable U.S. Postal or International Postal money orders.
Any book or magazine.
The detention facility is not responsible for delays or errors on the part of the U.S. Postal Service in the daily delivery of mail. If any item is denied it is returned to sender and the inmate is informed in writing.
Acceptable Property to Receive by Mail
Photographs may be received in personal correspondence or package. No Polaroids. Only 3 photos at a time.
Incoming funds that are mailed to the facility for you must be in the form of U. S. Postal and International Postal money orders or certified funds made payable to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office (J.C.S.O.). No personal checks or credit cards will be accepted.
The jail will no longer accept books or magazines by mail.
The arrest of the accused A.L.F. “Lone Wolf” Walter Bond has generated nationwide media coverage which has forced the issue of animal suffering into the minds of millions. Countless online and print articles have brought the overlooked issue of cow skin products into the conscious of the general public, in addition to the general issue of animal oppression. Excerpts from the Lone Wolf communiques have also brought the issue of animal suffering to a mainstream audience.
The first TV news segment focuses on Bond’s “folk hero” status after being the subject of a song by the vegan straight edge band Earth Crisis. The band’s song “To Ashes” was inspired by Bond’s 1998 prison sentence for arson. Bond was convicted of burning down a meth lab owned by a drug dealer who was selling to his brother. Earth Crisis wrote a song celebrating this brand of militant anti-drug action.
View the CBS Denver affiliate coverage, titled “Sheepskin Fire Suspect Has Vegan Militant Ties“.
Informant used in arrest of Walter Bond for “A.L.F. Lone Wolf” arsons
News is emerging, but the FBI has arrested a man in connection with the A.L.F. arson at Sheepskin Factory in Denver, Colorado. Walter Bond, 34, was arrested by federal agents Thursday.
The FBI alleges Bond admitted to an informant to setting two additional fires – one at Tandy Leather Factory, the other at Tiburon (foie gras restaurant), both in Utah. In anonymous communiques, “A.L.F. Lone Wolf” took credit.
The criminal complaint outlines the case against Walter Bond, and alleges the following:
*On July 1st, investigators received a call from a confidential informant wishing to provide information on the Sheepskin Factory and Tandy Leather Factory arsons. The informant stated Bond had told him/her in a telephone call from the Salt Lake City library to refer to Animal Liberation Front-Line (formerly Voice of the Voiceless) and scroll down to an article on the Sheepskin Factory arson to learn what he’d “been up to”.
*On July 22nd, the confidential informant arranged a monitored conversation with Walter Bond in a Ramada Inn in Denver, Colorado. Investigators allege Bond was heard admitting to three arsons: Sheepskin Factory, Leather Factory, and Tiburon. Bond was arrested subsequent to the conversation.
The arrest follows three months of A.L.F. activity in which three businesses (in UT and CO) were targeted by arson. “A.L.F. Lone Wolf” took credit for all three arsons in two communiques. Coverage of the arsons can be read at:
To date, Bond is charged only with the Sheepskin Factory arson. The crime carries a mandatory minimum of 5 years in federal prison. Additional charges for the two Utah arsons are possible.
The suspect also served prison time in 1997 for an arson at a meth lab in Iowa. Bond received notoriety when the vegan straight edge band Earth Crisis wrote a song about Bond and the arson titled “To Ashes” for their 2009 album “To The Death”.
The criminal complaint makes note of the term “Go Vegan” used in one of the Long Wolf communiques, and Bond’s “Vegan” neck tattoo (see below).
The timeline of events leading to Walter Bond’s arrest, as outlined in the criminal complaint, are as follows:
April 30th, 2010
Fire destroys Sheepskin Factory store in Denver, Colorado. The uninsured building is destroyed, causing $500,000 damages.
Investigators review security camera footage showing an individual wearing a hooded sweatshirt and backpack near the building around the time of the fire.
June 5th, 2010
The Tandy Leather Factory in Salt Lake City, Utah is broken into and a fire is set causing extensive damage.
July 1st, 2010
The FBI receives a call from a confidential informant, stating Walter Bond had admitted to him/her he was responsible for two fires: the Sheepskin Factory arson, and a second fire at Tandy Leather Factory in Salt Lake City, Utah. The informant stated he/she believed Bond contacted him/her from a payphone at the Salt Lake City Library. When asked what he had been up to lately, Bond reportedly told the informant to visit www.voiceofthevoiceless.org, and that that’s what he’d “been up to”.
July 3rd, 2010
Tiburon, a restaurant serving foie gras in Sandy, Utah, is set on fire. Damages estimated at $10,000.
July 22nd, 2010
The informant arranges a meeting with Walter Bond at a Ramada Inn in Denver, Colorado. The meeting is recorded and monitored by the ATF. Agents state they hear Bond admit to setting the fires at Sheepskin Factory, Leather Factory, and Tiburon. Bond reportedly stated it angered him the business made a profit from animals. Agents also report he stated he intended to burn Sheepskin Factory down again “in a couple of years”.
Report from the sentencing of Alex Hall, who received a 21-month sentence in the A.L.F. liberation of 650 mink in South Jordan, Utah
Over one year after his indictment for a 2008 mink liberation, a federal judge sentenced Alex Hall to 21 months in prison this week. The sentence was 3 months less than that of his co-defendant William Viehl, yet still more than three times the recommended sentence of six months.
Here is the report from Hall’s sentencing:
Both activists and fur farmers were in attendance for the final courtroom chapter in the “AETA 2” case of Alex Hall and William Viehl, arrested for the August 2008 liberation of 650 mink from the McMullin Fur Farm in South Jordan, Uah. They are the first prison sentences under the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act.
Prosecutor Huber first addressed the court. At William Viehl’s (Hall’s codefendant) sentencing, Huber showed the court an outrageously deceptive slideshow displaying images from A.L.F. arsons and excerpts from communiques for actions Viehl was not accused of. The presentation this time was more subdued, referring to Viehl’s sentence by asking the judge to “make a similar analysis today” (Viehl received 24 months).
Next, Lindsay McMullin, owner of the raided fur farm, spoke. Previously, this man who kills 3,000 mink annually expressed Viehl should be charged with “animal cruelty” for releasing 650 of the animals from his farm. He expressed similarly bizarre sentiments at Hall’s sentencing, stating: “I wish you would have been there that day (when they captured mink after the release)… the destruction you did to (the mink) was incredible.”
After thanking law enforcement and “the judicial system”, McMullin made this statement which telegraphed the long-term impact of mink releases on farmers and the industry:
“The entire industry has and still affected by this action…. We still get emails from other farmers who are intimidated by these illegal actions.”
Hall’s attorney spoke next, highlighting that Alex has no history of violence, and no criminal history… “but he does have compassion for animals.”
Then it was time for Judge Benson to hand down his sentence. Given the judge’s statements at Viehl’s sentencing, Hall’s sentencing could go one of several ways. Benson stated in Viehl’s case he intended to sentence him to three years, arriving at two only after Viehl showed remorse (note: an expression of remorse in a courtroom under threat of a severe sentence should not be taken as genuine). Thus, it would seem that the judge had obligated himself to sentence anyone who did not show extreme remorse to three years, and anyone who showed equal remorse to two. A sentence less than two was unlikely, given that Hall and Viehl were comparable in every category relevant to sentencing.
The judge began by stating he was inclined to give Hall the same sentence as Viehl (24 months). Instead, announced a sentence of 21 months. While this was still over three times the sentencing guidelines, it came as a surprise to most in the courtroom.
A few of the judge’s quotes:
“There are two main features of this sentence… to set a judgement for the criminal conduct of other people… This is a simple case: deterrence needs to be emphasized.”
“We all have different views… we almost never agree… nly when people get so far off that they directly interfere with people is it a problem.”
“To terrorize them, children, and belongings… that is wrong to ever happen.”
“Thank goodness we have legal processes to change things… voting, debates…” (went on to list numerous things that don’t achieve animal liberation)
“When we feel strongly about something, we don’t terrorize other people.”
“A message needs to be sent to people who believe so strongly in animals that it’s ok to vandalize and commit other acts… it just can’t happen in a civilized society.”
“You just can’t violate clearly stated laws”
Hall is expected to serve the rest of his sentence in Davis County Jail, rather than be shipped to a federal prison. He is expected to be released in two or three months.
Please support Alex Hall and William “BJ” Viehl in their final months behind bars, where they sit for the crime of delivering animals from their cages.
Alex Hall
Inmate #2009-06304
Davis County Jail
800 West State St.
Farmington, UT 84025
William Viehl
#15909-081
FCI Terminal Island
Po Box 3007
San Pedro, CA 90731
