DeMuth Receives Six Months in A.L.F. Raid that Shut Down Farm
Scott DeMuth taken into custody at sentencing for raid on a ferret farm
Today, Scott DeMuth received 6 months in prison for the Animal Liberation Front-claimed release of 400 ferrets from a former Minnesota mink farm. It was expected DeMuth would be allowed to self-surrender at a later date, but in an unexpected move, the judge ordered him to be taken into custody immediately.
Raid shut down the farm
New information was revealed at the sentencing, with Prosecutor Clifford Cronk admitting the raid had shut the ferret farm down
Details of the A.L.F. action
The Animal Liberation Front claimed responsibility for the 2006 raid. Reportedly, the communique mistakenly described the animals released as mink. Yet owner Eugene Latzig claimed he had left the mink farming business and began breeding ferrets prior to the raid. Formerly the Latzig Mink Ranch (raided by the Animal Liberation Front in 1996), the business changed its name to Lakeside Ferrets some time later.
How DeMuth was caught
DeMuth was charged with the A.L.F. action after the FBI raided his home in connection with the RNC protests. On his computer, they allege they found records that the farm had been looked up using Google Earth just prior to the raid. A copy of the A.L.F. communique was also found.
A plea agreement was reached after prosecutors agreed to dismiss charges for another raid DeMuth was charged with: the 2004 rescue of 401 animals from the University of Iowa. The FBI announced recently they were closing the investigation into that raid with no convictions.
To recap…
Bad news: DeMuth is going to prison for 6 months.
Good: The simple A.L.F. action carried out by DeMuth and person(s) unknown shut down a ferret farm.
DeMuth is expected to be released in August.
– Peter Young
I finally realized, after reading this article earlier today and thinking about it the rest of the afternoon, that the goal of direct action is very practical and do-able — not trying to change people’s views, just totally destroying each animal enterprise. Anyone can do it and should.
Also, I finally realized, coming home from Walter Bond’s sentencing, that direct action is the only method by which to bring about animal liberation.