Center for Constitutional Rights Challenges Animal “Terrorism” Law as Unconstitutional
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February 19, 2015, Chicago – Today, attorneys from the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) urged a federal court to dismiss a terrorism indictment against two animal rights activists alleged to have freed thousands of animals from Midwestern fur farms. The activists were indicted under the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA), which CCR attorney Rachel Meeropol told the court is unconstitutional and should be struck down.
“The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act is a poorly
disguised attempt to chill legitimate advocacy by an unpopular group of
activists,” said Center for Constitutional Rights Senior Staff Attorney
Rachel Meeropol, who argued today. “Liberating animals is not
terrorism.”
Meeropol noted that the government itself
admitted that freeing animals is not properly characterized as
“terrorism” when it insisted in court filings that government attorneys “will
not refer to the defendants as terrorists at trial or in any other
context.” Yet, argued Meeropol, if found guilty of freeing animals, the
defendants will nonetheless be convicted “terrorists” for life: they
could be placed in highly restrictive prison conditions as a result, and
they might have to disclose the nature of their convictions to
employers, academic institutions, and others in the future.
CCR also challenged the law as violating the
First Amendment. The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act punishes causing
damage or loss to a business or other institution that sells animals or
animal products. This includes both lost profits caused by criminal acts
and loss caused by boycotts, picketing, and other
constitutionally-protected activity, thus criminalizing a broad swath of
First Amendment advocacy.
Finally, Meeropol argued that the law invites
discriminatory enforcement because it federalizes almost every property
crime against almost every business in the country, from an animal
testing lab to a corner convenience store that sells meat and dairy
products. Despite its broad reach, only animal rights activists have
ever been charged under the law.
Kevin Johnson and Tyler Lang were indicted under
the AETA in July for allegedly releasing mink and foxes from two rural
Illinois fur farms. They previously faced state charges of “possession
of burglary tools” after a police search during a traffic stop turned up
items such as wire cutters. Both men pleaded guilty to the state
charges; Mr. Lang was sentenced to 170 days in prison and Mr. Johnson to
30 months. They face up to 10 years in federal prison if convicted of
the AETA charges.
Michael Deutsch of the People’s Law Office;
Lillian McCartin; and Geoffrey Meyer of the Federal Defender Program in
Chicago are co-counsel in the case.
For more information on the case, visit CCR’s case page, U.S. v. Johnson.
The Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Founded in 1966 by attorneys who represented civil rights movements in the South, CCR is a non-profit legal and educational organization committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change.
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