March 15, 2010
Posted by Hiram
Jin
https://twitter.com/untilallarefree/s...
Brief update:
This morning at 11:30am, approximately 8 FBI agents raided my house and executed
a search warrant. The warrant was issued in southern district of Iowa. It called
for confiscation of four categories of items related to “animal enterprise
terrorism”. The warrant also named several others who did not reside at the
house.
Computers were taken in the raid. This site may be updated irregularly until new
computers are obtained.
More information forthcoming as attorneys deem it relevant.
- Peter Young
----------------
Mar 15th, 2010 by Will Potter
FBI agents and law enforcement from multiple agencies have raided a well-known
activist group house in Salt Lake City, Utah, today in connection with an
investigation of Animal Liberation Front crimes in Iowa.
I just got off the phone with multiple housemates who were there witnessing the
raid, and who were able to read the warrant. Details about all of this are still
emerging, but at this point it is clear that the warrant was issued by the
Southern District of Iowa, and authorizes the seizure of any books, pamphlets,
computers and other materials tied to “animal enterprise terrorism.”
Some background: In Minnesota, a graduate student named Scott DeMuth has been
indicted on conspiracy charges under the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act. The
charges are related to a 2004 raid by the Animal Liberation Front at the
University of Iowa.
Another Minnesota activist, Carrie Feldman, has been jailed for refusing to
testify about her political beliefs and political associations before a grand
jury. Feldman was a teenager at the time of the ALF crime, and says the grand
jury is clearly an attempt to harass and intimidate the activist community.
So how did the FBI end up in Utah? One of the housemates, Peter Young, is
repeatedly mentioned by name in the warrant. Young was one of the first people
prosecuted for “animal enterprise terrorism” in connection to fur farm raids in
the late 90s. (His co-defendant Justin Samuel is also mentioned in the warrant).
He served two years in prison, and has been living in Salt Lake City, speaking
at colleges, and writing on his website, Voice of the Voiceless. He is among the
most vocal, public supporters of the ALF and direct action.
The only connection I can decipher between Young and the Iowa investigation is
this: in an emergency motion filed against Scott DeMuth, to keep him in jail,
the government calls DeMuth an “anarchist” and “domestic terrorist.” As evidence
of this, they say he is an “associate” of Peter Young. As DeMuth’s faculty
advisor has publicly explained, this is tied to his research as a graduate
student.
There are about nine people living at the activist group house in Salt Lake. At
least 15 computers were taken by the FBI, along with boxes of documents,
notebooks, files, and address books. The house is well-known in the area as a
gathering space for animal rights and other activists. No arrests have been
made, and at this point it seems Iowa is being used as a pretext for a continued
campaign of harassment and intimidation.
Among the items taken from the FBI’s terrorism raid: a postcard for Iowa 80,
“the world’s largest truck stop.”
I’ll continue to update as this story develops. In the meantime, this is a good
opportunity to plug the National Lawyers Guild hotline, 1-888-NLG-ECOL. Also,
please write Carrie Feldman a letter as she continues to resist the grand jury
witch hunt. Carolyn Feldman, 770 Iowa St., Dubuque, IA 52001.
