Archive for the ‘Prisoner Support’ Category

FBI Makes Arrest in A.L.F “Lone Wolf” Arsons

Friday, July 23rd, 2010

walter-bond

Taken from Voice of the Voiceless

Informant used in arrest of Walter Bond for “A.L.F. Lone Wolf” arsons

News is emerging, but the FBI has arrested a man in connection with the A.L.F. arson at Sheepskin Factory in Denver, Colorado. Walter Bond, 34, was arrested by federal agents Thursday.

The FBI alleges Bond admitted to an informant to setting two additional fires – one at Tandy Leather Factory, the other at Tiburon (foie gras restaurant), both in Utah. In anonymous communiques, “A.L.F. Lone Wolf” took credit.

The criminal complaint outlines the case against Walter Bond, and alleges the following:

*On July 1st, investigators received a call from a confidential informant wishing to provide information on the Sheepskin Factory and Tandy Leather Factory arsons. The informant stated Bond had told him/her in a telephone call from the Salt Lake City library to refer to Voice of the Voiceless and scroll down to an article on the Sheepskin Factory arson to learn what he’d “been up to lately”.

*On July 22nd, the confidential informant arranged a monitored conversation with Walter Bond in a Ramada Inn in Denver, Colorado. Investigators allege Bond was heard admitting to three arsons: Sheepskin Factory, Leather Factory, and Tiburon. Bond was arrested subsequent to the conversation.

The arrest follows three months of A.L.F. activity in which three businesses (in UT and CO) were targeted by arson. “A.L.F. Lone Wolf” took credit for all three arsons in two communiques. Coverage of the arsons can be read at:

Sheepskin Factory arson story

Tandy Leather Factory arson story

Tiburon restaurant arson story

To date, Bond is charged only with the Sheepskin Factory arson. The crime carries a mandatory minimum of 5 years in federal prison. Additional charges for the two Utah arsons are possible.

The suspect also served prison time in 1997 for an arson at a meth lab in Iowa. Bond received notoriety when the vegan straight edge band Earth Crisis wrote a song about Bond and the arson titled “To Ashes” for their 2009 album “To The Death”.

The criminal complaint makes note of the term “Go Vegan” used in one of the Long Wolf communiques, and Bond’s “Vegan” neck tattoo.

The timeline of events leading to Walter Bond’s arrest, as outlined in the criminal complaint, are as follows:

April 30th, 2010

Fire destroys Sheepskin Factory store in Denver, Colorado. The uninsured building is destroyed, causing $500,000 damages.

Investigators review security camera footage showing an individual wearing a hooded sweatshirt and backpack near the building around the time of the fire.

June 5th, 2010

The Tandy Leather Factory in Salt Lake City, Utah is broken into and a fire is set causing extensive damage.

July 1st, 2010

The FBI receives a call from a confidential informant, stating Walter Bond had admitted to him/her he was responsible for two fires: the Sheepskin Factory arson, and a second fire at Tandy Leather Factory in Salt Lake City, Utah. The informant stated he/she believed Bond contacted him/her from a payphone at the Salt Lake City Library. When asked what he had been up to lately, Bond reportedly told the informant to visit www.voiceofthevoiceless.org, and that that’s what he’d “been up to”.

July 3rd, 2010

Tiburon, a restaurant serving foie gras in Sandy, Utah, is set on fire. Damages estimated at $10,000.

July 22nd, 2010

The informant arranges a meeting with Walter Bond at a Ramada Inn in Denver, Colorado. The meeting is recorded and monitored by the ATF. Agents state they hear Bond admit to setting the fires at Sheepskin Factory, Leather Factory, and Tiburon. Bond reportedly stated it angered him the business made a profit from animals. Agents also report he stated he intended to burn Sheepskin Factory down again “in a couple of years”.

Subsequent to the monitored conversation, agents arrest Walter Bond. On his person they allegedly find a copy of “Declaration of War – Killing People to Save Animals and the Environment“.

Bond remains held in a Denver jail.

More news on the arrest will be made available as it emerges.

-Peter Young”

Posted in Activists Arrested, Animal Liberation, Animal Liberation Front, Animal Rights, Anti Fur, Direct Action, Prisoner Support, Vegan Outreach | 3 Comments »

Representation of Activists

Friday, April 30th, 2010

Speaking panel “Representation of Activists” at the “Animal Law: Working with the Grassroots” conference May 16, 2008. The event was sponsored by the University of WA Student Animal Legal Defense Fund.

Pt. 1 Will Potter of Green is the New Red.Com

Pt. 2 Lauren Regan of the Civil Liberties Defense Center

Pt. 3 Shannon Keith ( Film maker and Activist Lawyer )

Posted in Activists Arrested, Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, Animal Liberation Front, Animal Rights, Benefit, Civil Disobedience, Direct Action, Grand Jury, Prisoner Support, Vegan Outreach | No Comments »

Fellow Activists in Austria Need Us!

Friday, April 16th, 2010

Fellow Activists in Austria need us! They are facing 5 years in jail for legal protest activity! All it takes is a minute!

shame on austria

“On 21 May 2008, special units of the Austrian police arrested 10 leading campaigners from the country’s successful animal protection movement. The activists, among them a former research assistant at the University of Cambridge, were put on remand. The Ministry of the Interior boasted they had hunted down a criminal gang responsible for numerous cases of arson, gas attacks and bomb threats.

However, the imprisoned people insisted that the prosecution files they were eventually given access to contained absolutely no evidence of any criminal offence but rather a description of their campaigning for changing laws and business policies. One of the prisoners went on hunger strike and stayed without food for 39 days. Fierce criticism came from many well-known personalities and organisations, including Amnesty International and the Green Party.

After more than three months, a senior state prosecutor ordered release of the activists, saying the time spent in custody must be in proportion to the expected sentence. This drove away most of the public attention, but the case wasn’t over. In February 2010, the state prosecution announced that enough evidence had been found to put 13 animal protection activists, including the ten who had spent three months in custody, on trial.

Four of the activists have released their charge sheets on the internet. The worst fears have been fulfilled. There is nothing in the charge sheets that could be seen as evidence of criminal behaviour. Rather, the activists’ supposed membership in a criminal organisation is deduced from an extensive list of expressed opinions and political activities, such as organising demonstrations and public conferences.

The trial is expected to last 6 months. The activists are facing up to 5 years imprisonment and will have to pay over €35,000 each for defence lawyers, which will not be reimbursed even if the trial results in acquittal.

This cannot be tolerated. Austria must not be allowed to terrorise its citizens with financial ruin and imprisonment because of their political activities.”

They have made a web site about political persecution on activists in Austria. Please read up and learn about their case.

Please sign and send the email here! It only takes a minute!

Posted in Activists Arrested, Animal Rights, Prisoner Support, Vegan Outreach | No Comments »

Carrie Feldman Released From Jail.

Thursday, March 18th, 2010

After 4 months in jail for refusing to testify before a grand jury, Carrie Feldman was released today. We would like to thank everyone for making her time in jail a little more pleasant by writing her!

Article about her release

Davenport Grand Jury

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Posted in Activists Arrested, Animal Liberation Front, Animal Rights, Direct Action, Prisoner Support | No Comments »

Animal Rights Activist in Danbury, CT area in need!

Thursday, March 18th, 2010

lauren

Lauren Gazzola is an animal rights activist who has spent the last 3 1/2 years in prison in Danbury because of her involvement in a campaign to close down animal testing laboratory Huntingdon Life Sciences.

Lauren has served her sentence with dignity and has spent most of her time inside pursuing a Masters degree in the First Amendment, and applying to law school. She has continued to speak out for animals through her writings, interviews and studies.

Lauren will be released to a halfway house in Hartford on March 17th. More than ever she needs our help! She is being dropped into a new environment and a new city, with limited money, knowledge of the city and with a whole lot of rules from the Halfway House.

What she needs now (aside from a job) is folks in and around Hartford who might be willing to help her out. People to show her around the city, bring food to the HWH, give her a ride to the grocery store…

Lauren has not gotten much information about what the rules and regulations are for the HWH so this all might change, but if you are at all interesting in helping her out (however you can) please contact Lance at LMorosini@earthlink.net

for more information on Lauren and the SHAC7, please visit

www.shac7.com

www.supportlauren.com


Posted in Activists Arrested, Prisoner Support, Uncategorized | No Comments »

William Viehl gets 2 years for freeing caged mink

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

bj Today, William James Viehl ‘BJ’, was sentenced to 2 years in prison for his role in  liberating hundreds of mink from a south jordan fur farm in Utah. ( read about the arrests  and the action at Green Is The New Red.Com )

“Viehl already has served about six months in jail while awaiting sentencing and will be    given credit for that time. Benson also sentenced Viehl to three years of probation, during  which time he cannot have contact with other people who advocate the freeing of animals.   Viehl also must pay about $66,000 in restitution, though he can split that amount with    his co-defendant, Alex Jason Hall, if he is convicted. Hall is awaiting trial.”

You can read the article by the Salt Lake Tribune right here.

“Viehl, 23, was expected to be sentenced Nov. 12 to six months in prison for damaging and interfering with animal enterprises during a September raid on the McMullin mink farm in South Jordan. Such a sentence is consistent with the low end of the federal sentencing guidelines, which the U.S. Attorney’s Office had agreed to recommend in exchange for Viehl’s guilty plea.

During the sentencing hearing, however, prosecutor John Huber told Benson that although Viehl’s actions were classified as a property crime by the sentencing guidelines, the impact of his misconduct was much more sinister than simple vandalism.

“The crime itself was designed to intimidate and inspire fear in the victims,” Huber said.

Investigators believe Viehl and Alex Hall, 21, released as many as 650 minks in the raid and also vandalized a number of buildings on the property with phrases such as “No More Mink, No More Murder” and “ALF: We Are Watching.”

read it at Desert News.

Posted in Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, Animal Liberation, Animal Liberation Front, Animal Rights, Anti Fur, Direct Action, Prisoner Support | No Comments »

Steve Murphy pleads guilty in california arson attempt

Thursday, January 14th, 2010

P1070772

Steven ‘Steve’ James Murphy, 44, pleaded guilty this afternoon in United States District Court in Los Angeles to one count of conspiracy to commit arson. The attempt was an incendiary device set up with a lit cigarette used as a delayed timer. Since this was just an attempt, this means the cigarette failed to detonate the device.

The attempted arson was at the construction site of the multi-million dollar historic condominium project known as the ‘Vista Del Arroyo Bugalows’.

This action was most likely taken in defense of our earth. Destroying the construction of the condo’s inflicting economic damage to corporations and the entities to blame for the earths pollution and destruction.

Steve also allegedly admitted to disabling the ignition of a tractor that was being used on the job site and writing”ANOTHER TRACTOR DECOMMISSIONED BY THE E.L.F”

We will bring you news on Steve, as it becomes available.

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Posted in Activists Arrested, Direct Action, Earth Liberation Front, Prisoner Support, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Daniel Wilson needs vegan food! ( jail support! )

Thursday, December 17th, 2009

Please call Thurston County Jail at 360-786-5510 and request Daniel Wilson be given adequate vegan meals immediately.

Daniel is a political prisoner in Washington that was jailed as an Olympia mayday arrestee. He was jailed for nothing more than using his first amendment right while protesting. Daniel has been denied vegan food for 19 days now and needs our help!

​Calls between 1:30 to 4:30 PM PST are most effective. Calling the administration office, medical wing, and food staff would be great, but if even one of these wings gets an extra phone call, you’ll be helping Daniel.

Reposted for out friends at Support Vegans In the Prison System

Posted in Activists Arrested, Prisoner Support | 8 Comments »

Write to Carrie & Scott!

Wednesday, November 18th, 2009

new pic djdjd

Carrie & Scott were recently jailed for resisting the grand jury in Davenport, Iowa. To learn more about their case, check out their support site! We stand in solidarity with Carrie and Scott and we need to show them how much support they have so they feel less lonely in jail and know that people across the world are thinking about them.

Even if you don’t want to physically send mail, you can type up an email and send it to davenportgrandjury@riseup.net and then it will be printed out and given to Carrie or Scott!

Carrie:

Carolyn Feldman

Washington County Jail.

2185 Lexington Blvd. PO Box 6

Washington, IA 52353

Mail rules: nothing graphic, no perfumes, nothing but the address on the envelope. She can have 10 small pictures total in her cell. No Polaroids. You cannot send stamps; she has to buy them with commissary money.

Books can be sent from anywhere, but they have to be approved by the administrator. No hardbacks. However, she can only have 2 books at a time, so we’re asking people to hold off on sending books to her for now. We’re setting up a system to get books to her and will update about this in the next day or two.

Scott:

Muscatine County Jail Inmate

c/o “Scott DeMuth”

400 Walnut Street

Muscatine, Iowa 52761

Mailing Regulations:

Please make sure that the return address includes a full name and address, or it won’t get to him.

Scott can have photos (no limit), but no Polaroids. You can’t send stamps; he has to pay for them with commissary money.

Books can come from a publisher or book store. No hardbacks. Limit: “something reasonable, not 20 or 30.”

Posted in Activists Arrested, Grand Jury, Prisoner Support | 2 Comments »

Carrie Feldman & Scott DeMuth jailed for civil contempt

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009

Federal grand jury protest

Both Carrie and Scott were taken into custody today after their hearing at 9 am. Both activists have resisted the grand jury in Davenport, Iowa by pleading their 5th Amendment right and not speaking with the court. They believe they have been called in for questioning to try and get information about a 2004 A.L.F action against a lab that happened at the University of Iowa in which rats and mice were freed from captivity and torture, lab equipment was destroyed, and causing the University around $450,000 in damage.

Hopefully Carrie and Scott will be out soon, if not, we will have some addresses where you can write to them to give them your words of support.

Please visit their support site. DAVENPORT GRAND JURY

Posted in Activists Arrested, Grand Jury, Prisoner Support | 3 Comments »