Description 

Come to the The Wingnut on Saturday February 20th at 6pm to eat some awesome vegan spaghetti dinner and donate money to the legal defense fund for the AETA 4, who were arrested last year on this date. Please bring some money to donate to the AETA 4 legal defense fund, and then enjoy a delicious dinner with friends and new friends. Maybe musical entertainment too? Musicians get in touch!

February 19-20, 2010 marks the one year anniversary of the arrests of Joseph Buddenberg, Maryam Khajavi, Nathan Pope, and Adriana Stumpo -- now collectively known as the AETA4.

The arrests of the AETA4 mark a dramatic escalation in the federal government's continued war on dissent, and more particularly, animal rights and environmental activism. They are being prosecuted based on allegations of political activities such as demonstrations and leafleting. Their arrests were the first under the Bush Administration'..s controversial Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, signed into law in 2006.

The AETA statute was introduced at the behest of wealthy biomedical and agri-business industry front groups. It passed with inadequate notice, and with only a handful of Congresspersons.. present for the vote.

To mark this symbolic occasion and to provide them with the much-needed moral and financial support as they continue to await a trumped-up federal trial, we're calling for the weekend of February 19-21, 2010 to be a weekend of support for the AETA4. We're calling on concerned activists, groups, and collectives to organize benefit events in their city for the legal fund of the four.

Please get in touch with the support team at support AT AETA4 DOT org if interested in planning an event, or with any other inquiries you may have.

A support flyer can be downloaded/..printed out for distribution at:
http:../../..www...indybay...org/..newsitems/..2009/..12/..09/18631943.php

The next AETA4 court appearance is tentatively scheduled for:

Monday January 25
9:00 AM
San Jose Federal Courthouse
280 S. 1st. ST
San Jose, CA
Courtroom 6 (4th Floor)

The court recently denied the AETA4 motion to dismiss, which argued that the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act is unconstitutional.

And in recent weeks, the court has ordered the defendants to provide handwriting samples to the FBI before Mid December, 2009.  The government's motion for handwriting samples stated that they hope to further prepare for trial "on the current charges as well as possibly bringing additional charges" and stated that there is an "ongoing investigation into similar crimes committed through the United States Postal Service that may have been committed by one or more of these defendants." 

You are welcome to come show your support for the defendants in court!  However, we ask that you please dress conservatively if entering the courtroom, out of respect for the court and the defendants.

www.aeta4.org

There's a great fundraiser shaping up for the AETA4 on Jan 16th 2010 in St. Catharines, Ontario. All of the proceeds will be going directly to the AETA 4 legal fund.

There will also be support stalls inside for other Animal rights and green scare prisoners currently serving time or facing charges.

VegFund was nice enough to cover the venue cost and food and an amazing activist will be covering all other costs out of pocket!

So far Sea Shepherd has confirmed a table (Stephen Watson, Paul's brother), Suie Moffatt (Vegan Chocolate Queen) has confirmed a cooking demo and Prof. Lauren Corman has confirmed a short lecture. There will likely be a film showing. And bands confirmed so far are I Refuse and Black Faxes.

If you have any questions about the event, send an email to theveganpolicer..adio@gmail.com

www.aeta4.org

Feel free to download and distribute, leaflet at events, etc: 

http:../../..www...indybay...org/..newsitems/..2009/..12/..09/18631943.php

This petition currently has just over 2,000 signatures, and targets leaders of the Judiciary Committees.  To sign it, go here:

http://www.change.org/farm_animal_rights_movement/actions/view/act_now_to_protect_the_rights_of_animal_activists

The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act: The Most Dangerous Domestic Terror Law You've Never Heard Of

By Rachel Meeropol, Center for Constitutional Rights.

Under the AETA, if you and a friend go on the web to research a company whose practices you plan to protest, you may have just become a terrorist.

You may not have heard of the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, because the very first prosecution under the 2006 law is currently underway in San Jose, California. In the case, USA v. Buddenberg, four animal rights activists are accused of chanting, making leaflets and writing with chalk on the sidewalk in front of a senior bio-researcher's house, as well as using the internet to research the company whose actions they planned to protest. Under the AETA, they are charged with acts of animal enterprise terrorism.

The AETA classifies a person who "intentionally damages or causes the loss of any real or personal property" or "intentionally places a person in reasonable fear of" death or serious bodily injury as terrorists when they act for the "purpose of damaging or interfering with an animal enterprise." It imposes penalties accordingly. At first blush, this may not sound so bad. But a closer look exposes serious problems: the AETA can be read to reach so many different types of protests and people, and it is written in language so vague, it is impossible for someone to know whether their actions might be covered under the AETA, and thus great swaths of protected speech are in danger of being silenced by the law.

To understand the fundamental threat to free speech, the First Amendment and the right to protest that the AETA poses, it might help to unpack the words "Animal Enterprise," "Terrorism," and "Act."

Under the law, an animal enterprise includes any business that deals in animal research or uses or sells animal products. This could be read as anything from a lab conducting medical research on monkeys to a gas station that sells beef jerky.

Terrorism under this law might be defined as anything from physical harm to a person, the threat of physical harm to a person, physical harm to property, or, most tellingly, a loss of profit -- or any attempt or conspire to interfere or damage an animal enterprise in any way, even if no economic damage actually occurs. To be charged under this federal law, like most federal laws, you have to have crossed state lines, used interstate mail, or used the internet in the commission of the crime. If you and a friend go on the web to research a company whose practices you plan to protest, you may have just become a terrorist.

So, what is an Act? An act is a law passed by Congress and signed by the president, in this case an unconstitutional one. Attorneys from the Center for Constitutional Rights, the Civil Liberties Defense Center, and co-counsel are mounting a facial challenge in the case-challenging the law itself and demanding it be struck down.

Taken together, you have one of the most extreme pieces of legislation to come out of the last eights years, one that was pushed through Congress by a powerful lobby of corporations and research institutions late one night with a meager number of votes. Across the board, our nation has seen inroads in civil liberties in every area based on manipulated fear of terrorism. It is time to stop twisting the law as though we face new threats that couldn't possibly be handled by our existing system of justice.

When you create something so broad that it could potentially allow workers who Googled WalMart's board of directors, then picketed a store --  which sells milk -- to be charged with terrorism, you have left our democracy and constitutional rights far behind.

To learn more about actions you can take to abolish the AETA, visit
http://www.ccrjustice.org/get-involved/action/abolish-animal-enterprise-terrorism-act-(aeta)

www.aeta4.org

On May 21, Defense attorneys filed the motion to dismiss attacking the constitutionality of the AETA. The government filed their response today.

From the government's response:
"Accordingly, the First Amendment does not shield the threatening acts of animal rights activists, including the flyers they create and distribute identifying the researchers by photograph, name, work and home addresses, work and home telephone numbers; the activists’ vandalism, criminal trespass, harassment, and intimidation of the researchers and their families, from prosecution under 18 U.S.C. § 43 (a)(1), (a)(2)(B), and (a)(2)(C) (attempt)."

Read the response in full at:
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/06/16/18601857.php

The Defense motion to dismiss the charges against the AETA4, arguing that the statute is unconstitutional, was filed on May 21.  It can be read here:

http://ccrjustice.org/files/AETA%20-%20Buddenberg%20Motion%20to%20Dismiss.pdf