Will Potter's Blog, page 37

Book Release Party This Saturday at 826DC!

Hey everyone! Just a reminder about this weekend. The kind folks at 826DC (the fantastic literacy group started by author Dave Eggers) have opened up their space for a book release party. Sticky Fingers is catering, there'll be a couple guest speakers, Matt Gauck created a limited run of signed screenprints just for the event, and… well, it will just be nice to see everyone and celebrate having this thing DONE!

Saturday, April 23rd 2011
7pm
826 DC
Columbia Heights metro station
Facebook event page

I hope you can make it, and bring a friend or two. If the are any of Matt's screenprints left, I may put some up for sale on the website.

And if you can't make it, you can also order a signed copy of the book straight from me. (Geez, it feels so weird to say that). You can go to the "shop" page or just click "add to cart" below.

The Birth of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty, and the Arrest of the SHAC 7

The latest issue of Bite Back magazine includes an excerpt from my new book. The excerpt takes place on the day of the SHAC 7 arrests, and also looks at the campaigns against Consort Beagle Breeders, Shamrock Farms, and the rise of Stop Huntington Animal Cruelty.

You can download the excerpt here (1M, .pdf). But you can order copies of Bite Back for only $2 postage paid, so please do! Visit the Bite Back website to order or subscribe.

PS: Check out the great photo they found from one of the Shamrock Farms protests in 1999!

Florida Senator Says Undercover Videos Exposing Factory Farms are "Terrorism"

Iowa, Florida, and Minnesota are all considering bills that single out animal and environmental activists who investigate cruelty and pollution at factory farms. Now, one Florida senator is going even further, and saying that these undercover investigations are "terrorism."

As I wrote recently in this article about the bills targeting investigators and whistleblowers, groups like the Humane Society and Mercy for Animals have been incredibly successful at exposing the systemic animal welfare violations that take place in factory farms.

But according to Florida state senator Jim Norman, animal welfare advocates are only exposing these abuses to make money (yes, you read that correctly). Norman says of undercover investigators: "It's almost like terrorism, the way they go in."

This raises the question: who, exactly, are these activists terrorizing? It's not consumers, who have a right to know what they are buying. It's not the animals. And it's not the government, which has used investigations to initiate recalls of unsafe eggs and beef.

It's corporate profits.

I've written extensively about corporations, and the politicians who represent them, reaching further and further with their use of the word "terrorism." But this just might take the cake. To Norman and the politicians behind these bills, "terrorism" means investigating what corporations are doing, letting consumers see what goes on behind closed doors, and having the audacity to think that people should be able to decide for themselves how they spend their money.

Lead ELF Informant Jake Ferguson Arrested on Drug Charges

The government's roundup of environmental activists in "Operation Backfire" was only possible because the lead arsonist, Jacob Ferguson, had agreed to wear a wire, travel the country, and prod his friends into talking about the crimes with the Earth Liberation Front.

The government has repeatedly called Ferguson a "hero." U.S. Attorney Kirk Engdall has said he was "essential" to the largest investigation of the radical environmental movement in U.S. history.

In exchange for doing the government's work for them, Ferguson, who was involved in about 18 arsons, was sentenced to no jail time and five years probation. In other words, the most prolific arsonist in the history of so-called "eco-terrorism" got a free pass.

But Ferguson was arrested on April 6, 2011, on drug charges and now faces prison time for violating these conditions. Today will be his first probation violation hearing at the Eugene federal courthouse.

I think this is worth highlighting for a few reasons. Ferguson's drug history is not new information. In fact, the government used this against him in order to pressure him to become an informant. The FBI was well-aware of his personal history, but chose to ignore this because it was the only lead they had in arresting members of the ELF.

This is  yet another example of how far the FBI has been willing to go, and the shady deals that agents are willing to make, in order to secure a victory in the "War on Terrorism."

ALF Prisoner Walter Bond Being Held in Solitary, as Part of a "Security Threat Group"

Walter Bond set fire to the Sheepskin Factory in Colorado in the name of the Animal Liberation Front, and was sentenced to five years in prison. He is awaiting trial for two other arsons, in Utah, and is being held in solitary confinement: locked down for 23 hours a day during the week, and 24 hours a day on Saturday and Sunday.

In a letter to his prison support group, he said that he has been in transit and "They wouldn't put me in general population because they say I'm part of a government security threat group."

In addition, Bond reports that when he has been transported between prisons and holding facilities, guards have used what are called "black boxes": devices intended for the most dangerous prisoners that go over their handcuffs, to prevent attacks.To be clear, these conditions are not unique. I have spoken with other animal rights and environmental activists who have reported similar treatment, including black boxes, solitary confinement, and prison officials telling them that they are "security threats."

This isn't because these prisoners pose a risk to guards, or other prisoners. In fact, while Bonds crimes were certainly serious, no crime by the Animal Liberation Front has ever harmed a single human being. And no one has alleged that he poses a violent threat to those around him.

The reason for this treatment is the government's classification of the ALF and ELF as "domestic terrorist organizations." For example, when Bond was sentenced the FBI issued a press release that said: "Preventing and pursuing domestic terrorism—those acts of violence committed in furtherance of a political or social agenda—remains one of the top priorities of the FBI."

And it's important to note, too, that these conditions are not unique to animal rights activists. For more information about the human rights concerns of solitary confinement for all prisoners, please visit Jim Ridgeway's website, Solitary Watch.

Bond's birthday is April 16th. If you'd like to write him a letter, visit www.supportwalter.org.

UPDATE: His temporary address is:

Walter Bond

37096-013

Nevada Southern Detention Center

2190 E Mesquite Ave

Pahrump NV 89060

ALF Prisoner Walter Bond Being Held in Solitary, as Part of "Security Threat Group"

Walter Bond set fire to the Sheepskin Factory in Colorado in the name of the Animal Liberation Front, and was sentenced to five years in prison. He is awaiting trial for two other arsons, in Utah, and is being held in solitary confinement: locked down for 23 hours a day during the week, and 24 hours a day on Saturday and Sunday.

In a letter to his prison support group, he said that he has been in transit and "They wouldn't put me in general population because they say I'm part of a government security threat group."

In addition, Bond reports that when he has been transported between prisons and holding facilities, guards have used what are called "black boxes": devices intended for the most dangerous prisoners that go over their handcuffs, to prevent attacks.To be clear, there's conditions are not unique. I have spoken with other animal rights and environmental activists who have reported similar treatment, including black boxes, solitary confinement, and prison officials telling them that they are "security threats."

This isn't because these prisoners pose a risk to guards, or other prisoners. In fact, while Bonds crimes were certainly serious, no crime by the Animal Liberation Front has ever harmed a single human being. And no one has alleged that he poses a violent threat to those around him.

The reason for this treatment is the government's classfication of the ALF and ELF as "domestic terrorist organizations." For example, when Bond was sentenced the FBI issued a press release that said: "Preventing and pursuing domestic terrorism—those acts of violence committed in furtherance of a political or social agenda—remains one of the top priorities of the FBI."

And it's important to note, too, that these conditions are not unique to animal rights activists. For more information about the human rights concerns of solitary confinement for all prisoners, please visit Jim Ridgeway's website, Solitary Watch.

Bond's birthday is April 16th. If you'd like to write him a letter, visit www.supportwalter.org.

Minnesota Bill Targets Anyone Who Exposes an "Image or Sound" of Animal Suffering at Factory Farms, Puppy Mills

New legislation proposed in Minnesota attempts to crack down on activists who have exposed repeated animal welfare violations. Among its provisions, the bill targets anyone who documents an "image or sound" of animal suffering in a sweeping list of "animal facilities," including factory farms, animal experimentation labs, and puppy mills.

But House File No. 1369 doesn't stop there. The bill, introduced by six Republicans, also includes a number of other provisions that have popped up in "eco-terrorism" bills and "animal enterprise terrorism" laws over the years. Similar legislation has also been introduced in Florida and Iowa to target undercover investigators.

The Minnesota bill includes a number of dangerous parts. Among the most important:

"Animal facility interference." This provision targets those who, without the owner's consent, "produce a record which reproduces an image or sound occurring at the animal facility." Even worse, it targets those who "possess or distribute a record which produces an image or sound occurring at the animal facility." In other words, these Republicans are not only targeting anyone who exposes abuses in these facilities, but anyone who distributes that information (presumably via DVD, or potentially YouTube videos). This is listed as a gross misdemeanor.
"Animal facility tampering." This provision targets those who take animals from these facilities. That, of course, is already a crime. But those provision also goes further, and includes "disrupting" the operations of such a facility. This kind of vague, overly broad language has also appeared in federal laws like the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act. People have a right to know what, exactly, is a crime; vague language like this has a chilling effect on lawful activism, and can be misused by an ambitious prosecutor. This is listed as a felony.
"Animal facility fraud." This provision specifically targets undercover investigators and whistleblowers. It targets those who obtain access to an animal facility by "false pretense" (such as a false name on a job application, in order to document abuses). This is listed as a gross misdemeanor.

The bill also includes parallel provisions for "crop operation interference," "crop operation tampering," and "crop operation fraud."

All of this, of course, is part of a continued campaign by these corporations, and the politicians who represent them, to attack and silence their opponents. Groups like Mercy For Animals, PETA, Compassion Over Killing, and the Humane Society have repeatedly exposed systemic animal welfare violations in factory farms and other facilities. When people learn want goes on in these facilities, and see for themselves, they change what they buy. It's a serious and effective threat to corporate profits.

Not surprisingly, this bill includes provisions for civil recovery and equitable relief, so that corporations can force activists to compensate them for any revenue lost due to the exposure of their violence.

And the people behind it? Representative Rod Hamilton, for instance, is past president of the Minnesota Pork Producers, and a current member.

If you'd like to voice your concern to the supporters of this bill:

Dean Urdahl (R), 651-296-4344, rep.dean.urdahl@house.mn
Paul Anderson (R), 651-296-4317, rep.paul.anderson@house.mn
Tony Cornish (R), 651-296-4240, rep.tony.cornish@house.mn
Greg Davids (R), 651-296-9278, rep.greg.davids@house.mn
Bob Dettmer (R), 651-296-4124, rep.bob.dettmer@house.mn
Rod Hamilton (R), 651-296-5373, rep.rod.hamilton@house.mn

Alternet Homepage Features Article on Labeling Activists as Terrorists

An article I contributed to The Next Eco-Warriors, a new book edited by Emily Hunter and published by Conari Press, is being featured on the homepage of Alternet and in their newsletter.

Take a look and let me know what you think!

Alternet: "How I Almost Got Put on the Domestic Terrorist List for Handing Out Leaflets" by Will Potter

And if this article teased your interest in the topic, I hope you'll check out my new book, Green Is the New Red: An Insider's Account of a Social Movement Under Siege, available from City Lights.

Iowa and Florida Ag-Industry Bills Target Animal Cruelty Investigations

The factory farming and agriculture industries in Iowa and Florida are trying to pass two bills that specifically target anyone who photographs, videotapes and exposes the animal cruelty that takes place behind their closed doors.

In Iowa, Senate File 431 and House File 589 create new penalties for wide range of activities, including undercover investigations. They prohibit anyone from producing, possessing, or distributing a record of a "visual or audio experience occurring at [an] animal facility."

In Florida, Senate Bill 1426 would make photographing a farm without the written consent of the owner a first-degree felony.

It should come as no surprise who is behind these bills. For example, Iowa State Rep Annette Sweeney, a proponent of the bills, is the former Executive Director of the Iowa Angus Association. And Simpson Farms, Florida's second biggest egg producer, helped draft the language of that bill target animal welfare activists with up to 30 years in prison.

Why is this happening? Civil Eats summed it up well:

In Florida, The HSUS and other groups pushed for the adoption of the first statewide law in the country to restrict the extreme confinement of animals on factory farms. In 2002, voters there passed Amendment 10, to phase out the caging of breeding sows in gestation crates. In Iowa, HSUS and other animal welfare groups have conducted a series of undercover investigations (see the video below) to expose cruelty in the nation's biggest factory farming state.

"There are definitely groups out there that have an agenda that don't want animal agriculture in business and that's not right," said Kevin Vinchattle, chief executive officer of the Iowa Poultry Association, told the Associated Press. "I think that some people will go a long way to do or say anything to try to make a group of people look bad."

To be clear, though, these bills are not a few extreme examples. They are part of a very long campaign by corporations, and the politicians who represent them, to demonize and criminalize their opposition.

This type of legislation has not been confined to the factory farming industry. In Utah, for example, the animal experimentation industry has campaigned to hide public information about animal experimenters, and public information about their actions. And for good reason: when groups like PETA have exposed what goes on in animal experimentation labs, it has led to USDA citations for animal welfare abuses.

Even more revealing is that the language of all of these bills is quite similar to the model "eco-terrorism" legislation that was created by the American Legislative Exchange Council, a corporate front-group. ALEC's model legislation specifically targets "obstructing or impeding" animal industry operations (in the Iowa bill, it is "animal facility interferance") including undercover investigations, photography, videotaping and non-violent civil disobedience.

Corporations have been trying to label these undercover investigations and whistleblower operations as "eco-terrorism," and hit investigators with disporportionate criminal charges and sentences, for one simple reason: they are effective. While books like Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer have become increasingly mainstream, there is still no substitute, there is still nothing more powerful than showing photos and videos of what happens in these places.

And for industries dependent on secrecy and ignorance, that is indeed a threat.

Eugene, OR: Reading and Discussion of "Eco-Terrorism"

I'll be speaking in Eugene, Oregon on May 17th as part of my book tour. Many of the events in the book hold a special significance to folks in Eugene, because many of the "Operation Backfire" defendants called this town home. Operation Backfire was the largest FBI investigation ever into the radical environmental movement, and culminated in the roundup of more than a dozen activists, charging them with crimes by the Earth Liberation Front and Animal Liberation Front, and sentencing them to prison as "terrorists."

May 17th, 2011
University of Oregon Bookstore
Eugene, OR
7pm
Will Potter will read from and discuss his new book, Green Is the New Red: An Insider's Account of a Social Movement Under Siege

Here is a full listing of book tour events.