Posted on 03/03/2006 5:02:51 PM PST by neverdem
An animal rights group and six of its members were convicted of terrorism and Internet stalking yesterday by a federal jury that found them guilty of using their Web site to incite attacks on those who did business with or worked for a British company that runs an animal testing laboratory in New Jersey.
The case was the first test of the Animal Enterprise Terror Act, enacted in 1992 to curb the most aggressive tactics used by activists. The verdict, which came after 14 hours of deliberation, was called an insidious threat to free speech by some activists, but was cheered by research scientists, some of whom are lobbying Congress to tighten restrictions on protesters.
During the three-week trial, defense lawyers acknowledged that a Web site run by Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty posted home addresses and other personal information about animal researchers and others. But the activists said they were simply trying to shame their targets into dissociating themselves from the company, Huntingdon Life Sciences, and they disavowed any involvement with the vandalism, death threats, computer hacking and pipe bombs against those on the Web site.
Although federal prosecutors presented no evidence that the defendants directly participated in the vandalism and violence, they showed jurors that members of the group made speeches and Web postings from 2000 to 2004 that celebrated the violence and repeatedly used the word "we" to claim credit for it.
Prosecutors also produced telephone records indicating that the president of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty, Kevin Kjonaas, called a man charged with bombing a California biotech lab shortly after the explosion.
Jurors were also shown a videotape of the group's director, Lauren Gazzola, at a protest in Boston, making reference to the previous acts of violence and warning a target, "The police can't protect you!"
The defendants...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Now that is Good News!!!
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
---"The police can't protect you!"---
Let them remember that when they're in prison.
Not far enough. As Terrorists they should be shipped to GITMO and put on trial by a Military Tribunal.
Like ALL Terrorists are.
I'd be surprised if these animal whackos got even half the sentence that the congressman got.
I am somewhat familiar with SHAC, for reasons that I can't elaborate on. I'll just say that they are terrorists, it the truest sense of the word. For them, the end, justifies any means they use, including murder.
Amen. I've followed these groups (ALF and ELF) professionally for a long time, and they are truly dangerous. They have the same potential for violence as Al Qa'ida.
Hope these purdy moufs enjoy jail. The way most smelly hippies are, they'll be wife swapped a few hundred times for cigarettes until they are loosened up a bit and permanantly made Bubba's (all 7 feet, 600 lbs of him) bitch.
Sure is!
the animals are probably smarter than those weirdos
Oh No.... Moral relativists are the smartest critters on the planet /sarc
wonder if those bozos thought about hurting te critters in the building they blew up?
They dont think
They feel
the 60's is over,right?
I hope the judge throws the book at them at sentencing. Ping!
Charlie Brown is perfect :)
bttt
Send 'em all to Gitmo with the other terrorists.
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