Posted on 08/20/2002 6:15:51 AM PDT by Lance Romance
Pro-animal duo busted in terror siege
A violent international animal activist group launched a siege of terror on a Back Bay father and other employees of a Hub insurance firm they claim has ties to a controversial British lab that does animal testing, authorities said yesterday. ``It throws your life upside down,'' said one frightened victim who spoke anonymously for fear of retaliation. Two local members of the radical group were arrested Saturday after a four-month ``campaign of fear and intimidation'' on Robert Harper Jr., a mid-level manager at Marsh, a worldwide insurance broker with a Boston office. Authorities say Ryan Kleinert, 17, and Lisa Lotts, 23, were among a slew of activists who threatened to burn down Harper's Commonwealth Avenue apartment building, where he lives with his wife and 2-year-old son. Members dumped gallons of red paint on his front steps on Father's Day and chanted outside his home at all hours while carrying posters of dead animals. The group posted ``Wanted for Murder'' posters throughout the city bearing Harper's photo; re-routed his mail and put his personal information on the Internet. They repeatedly mentioned his son by name and passed out fliers in his neighborhood calling him a monster who ``supports torture,'' authorities said. ``He is a guy who goes into work everyday at an insurance brokerage and tries to do his job, having nothing to do with animal testing. It's really outrageous,'' said Assistant Attorney General John Grossman. Kleinert and Lotts, who live in an Allston commune, are members of the England-based group Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC). SHAC`s goal is to shut down Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS), a company based in England and New Jersey that does pharmaceutical testing on animals. SHAC claims the lab tortures animals and says Marsh sold HLS insurance. Marsh officials declined comment yesterday. Members of the 2-year-old group have fire-bombed the cars of British HLS employees and made death threats to hundreds of employees and their children, authorities said. They have beaten workers, vandalized homes and attempted to ``blind'' the company's marketing director. The group, which targets any entity associated with HLS, moved its terrifying tactics to the United States last year, where members have menaced employees nationwide whose companies have alleged HLS ties. Last month, the group detonated military-style smoke grenades at Marsh offices in Seattle. SHAC boasts of such indicents on their cryptic Web site. Prosecutors say Harper's work had nothing to do with HLS. They believe he was was targeted because his home is ``geographically'' convenient for members. Both Lotts, an Iowa native and grocery shop worker, and Kleinert, a high school student from New Jersey, allegedly shouted to Harper that the harassment wouldn't stop until he quit his job. The two were arraigned yesterday in Boston Municipal Court on charges of stalking, extortion, criminal harrassment and threats to commit a crime. They were each held on $1,000 bail and ordered to stay away from the Harpers. While standing outside Harper's home, Lotts allegedly shouted, ``Until you withdraw all investments Rob Harper, we are not going to leave your doorstep. Simply sever all ties to Huntingdon Life Sciences and we will be gone for good and we will not bother you again. It's that simple,'' court documents show. Two weeks ago, a national SHAC organizer yelled to Harper that the police couldn't protect his family after a judge ordered the activists to stay 13 feet from Harper's building. Klienert then shouted ``Rob how do you wash the blood off your hands? What do you use? Your (son's) towel?'' Lotts, who led some of the protests outside Harper's home, told members the strategy was to put the Harpers and others under a ``state of siege,'' prosecutors said. ``It's been so disturbing,'' said a neighbor of Harper's who said the ``nice'' couple had several cats. ``They're harassing them. I heard them shout `puppy killer' and `burn the building to the ground.' '' Court documents show the group harassed at least two other Marsh employees at their homes in Millis and Wenham. ``It's absolutely nuts,'' said another victim. The gothic-looking Lotts and bushy-haired Kleinert were arrested Saturday. Police found already filled out magazines subscriptions - another on of their tactics - for at least one victim on the pair. Attorney E. Michael Sullivan, who represents Lotts, said the government's case ``is guilt by association.'' Kleinert's attorney, Gregory St. Cyr, said the evidence will show that the teen was only ``engaged in peaceful protest.''
by Jessica Heslam
Tuesday, August 20, 2002
How? This way:
Authorities say Ryan Kleinert, 17, and Lisa Lotts, 23, were among a slew of activists who threatened to burn down Harper's Commonwealth Avenue apartment building, where he lives with his wife and 2-year-old son. Members dumped gallons of red paint on his front steps on Father's Day and chanted outside his home at all hours while carrying posters of dead animals. The group posted ``Wanted for Murder'' posters throughout the city bearing Harper's photo; re-routed his mail and put his personal information on the Internet. They repeatedly mentioned his son by name and passed out fliers in his neighborhood calling him a monster who ``supports torture,'' authorities said.
You're absolutely correct. It should be a frozen paintball driveby.
This British animal testing lab must be just as bad as those Al Qaeda guys who gassed the dog.
/sarcasm
I guess according to the Asst Atty General, it WOULD have been OK if this man had of beein involved with animal testing...
:^)
Al-Qaeda only want to kill infidels.
These guys are more ambitious. No joke.
The Voluntary Human Extinction Movement
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