Lawsuit Filed to Strike Down the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act
Constitutionality of the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act challenged in federal court
Fantastic work from the Center For Constitutional Freedom: last week, they filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act. The lawsuit, filed by four animal rights activists, asserts that the activist’s fourth amendment rights were violated by allowing the government to prosecute peaceful protesters as “terrorists”.
Plaintiff Sarahjane Blum said,
“I spent years uncovering conditions on foie gras farms and educating the public about the way ducks and geese are abused,” said Blum. “I no longer feel free to speak my mind on these issues out of fear that my advocacy could actually convince people to stop eating foie gras – affecting those businesses’ bottom line and turning me into an animal enterprise terrorist.”
The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act has only been applied a handful of times, most notably against four California activists dubbed “The AETA 4”. In that case, activists were prosecuted on federal terrorism charges for holding demonstrations at animal researcher’s homes. The case was dismissed over a year ago.
This is great news in the fight against one of the biggest threats against both activists and the US constitution.
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