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.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 4th, 2010 at 4:09 pm and is filed under Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, Animal Liberation, Animal Liberation Front, Animal Rights, Anti Fur, Direct Action, Prisoner Support. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.