Terrorism Legislation

Senate Approves NDAA Bill that Allows Military to Imprison U.S. Citizens, Without Charge, As “Terrorists”

The U.S. Senate voted Tuesday to maintain provisions in a bill that would allow the military to apprehend U.S. citizens, including those on U.S. soil, without charge, and hold them indefinitely if they are labeled as terrorists. President Obama has threatened a veto. The vote comes after attempts by the American Civil Liberties Union and […]

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ALEC Documents Reveal How Corporations Secretly Create New Laws

Documents released today shed new light on how corporations are directly drafting legislation through the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC. The Center for Media and Democracy has publicized more than 800 of ALEC’s “model bills” that have been created by corporations, and introduced across the country, all without other lawmakers and the public having […]

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NPR Investigates “Ag-Gag” Bills: Making Journalism Illegal

NPR’s “On The Media” invited me to discuss the attempts by multiple states to outlaw undercover investigations of factory farms, animal experimentation labs, puppy mills and other industries. My interview with Bob Garfield of NPR is online now. And the interview is even more timely because, as I reported yesterday, New York is now considering […]

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New York Bill Targets Undercover Investigators, as Two Other “Ag-Gag” Proposals Fail

A bill introduced in New York would criminalize undercover investigators who expose animal cruelty at factory farms and animal experimentation labs. The proposal is similar to other “Ag-Gag” legislation recently introduced in other states. The bills targeting undercover investigators in Iowa, Florida, and Minnesota have been met with such public outrage that two of them […]

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Huffington Post: “What is Big Ag Trying to Hide?”

The Huffington Post just published my op-ed on new bills being considered to criminalize undercover investigators, and punish anyone who exposes what goes on at factory farms. Here’s an excerpt: Undercover investigations by the Humane Society, Mercy for Animals and other groups have exposed systemic animal cruelty at factory farms. The video footage has led […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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. […]

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Tea Partiers Opposing “Radical” Anti-Puppy Mill Legislation

These folks, the ones who think that groups like the Humane Society are “radical” and “extremist,” they’re voting. Regardless of how you vote today, or whether you vote at all, please think about that.

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“Don’t ask, ‘How can I not be labeled a terrorist?’ Ask, ‘How can I be a threat?’”

Video of Will Potter’s plenary session lecture at the 2010 national animal rights conference in Washington, DC. It focuses on the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, secretive political prisons called Communications Management Units, and how we must respond.

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