Joseph Buddenburg

BREAKING: 2 Activists Accused of Freeing Animals are Charged as Terrorists

The FBI arrested two animal rights activists for allegedly freeing mink from fur farms and vandalizing property. The terrorism announcement comes days before the national animal rights conference.

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BREAKING: AETA 4 Case Dismissed, But Re-Indictment Possible

A U.S. District Court has thrown out the indictment of four animal rights activists who were charged with violating the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, because the government did not clearly explain what, exactly, the protesters did.

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Animal Rights Protesters Face Higher Sentences than Racist Cross Burners

Four animal rights activists are facing charges under the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act for chanting, demonstrating with masks covering their faces, and chalking defamatory slogans on the sidewalk. If convicted, the “AETA 4,”—Joseph Buddenburg, Maryam Khajavi, Nathan Pope, and Adriana Stumpo—could be sentenced to 5-10 years in prison. The AETA 4 case is a startling […]

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Animal Rights Activists Indicted as “Terrorists” For Home Protests

When four animal rights activists were arrested under the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, it was unclear how prosecutors would proceed, and what specific accusations the activists would face. Now, the government indictment, available here for the first time, makes it strikingly clear that prosecutors intend to use terrorism laws to target First Amendment activity.

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FBI Agent: Video Surveillance Used to Track Activist Leafleting

When I first reported on the arrest of four animal rights activists in California under the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, few details were available. The only information was the FBI press release (which mainstream media outlets have regurgitated nearly verbatim as news articles). I now have a copy of the criminal complaint written by FBI […]

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FBI Arrests 4 Activists as “Terrorists” for Chalking Slogans, Leafleting and Protesting

It was only a matter of time. Since the passage of the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, a sweeping new law labeling animal rights activists as “terrorists,” corporations and industry groups have been pushing the federal government to use their new powers. For more than two years, the law has sat on the shelf. The government […]

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