Wednesday, April 14, 2010

SCOTT DEMUTH IS INDICTED...AGAIN

 Yesterday the prosecutor in charge of the indictment of Scott DeMuth asked the court for a continuance so he could have more time to answer dismissal motions. Today he re-indicted him. What the f*ck?
http://www.animalliberationpressoffice.org/Media/media_images/2009-11_demuth.jpg Scott DeMuth

The following is from Support Carrie and Scott. 

Scott re-indicted AGAIN!
In this update:

1. Scott re-indicted AGAIN!
2. April 16: "The Green Scare: Targeting Environmental and Animal Rights Activism" at CUNY
3. April 22: "A Talk on Resistance and Repression: A Benefit for Legal Defense" in Chicago
4. April 24: Art auction in Minneapolis

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1. Scott's re-indicted AGAIN!

Today, we found out that Scott has been re-indicted for a second time. This time, Scott is being charged for conspiracy for the ALF raid at the University in Iowa in 2004, Lakeside Ferrets in Minnesota, "and other animal enterprises elsewhere" with "persons known and unknown to the Grand Jury." The alleged conspiracy is now supposed to have run from September 2004 until the beginning of May 2006.

The second superseding indictment was submitted yesterday, one day after Scott appeared in the federal courthouse in Davenport and the prosecutor, Cliff Cronk, successfully argued for a continuance for the trial because he needed more time to prepare. In response, Scott's lawyers have filed a motion to dismiss this indictment due to Cronk's prosecutorial misconduct. In the motion to dismiss, the defense team argues that Cronk "intentionally misled defense counsel, and possibly the Court, falsely claiming that he needed more time to respond to dismissal motions that he had every intention of attempting to obviate by obtaining yet another indictment."

Yep, Cronk's actions are just as crazy and reckless as they seem. We're hoping that the motion to dismiss this new indictment will be successful and will keep you posted as we learn more. In the mean time, Scott will continue to need our support and solidarity. Help spread the word!

All the court documents from Scott's case are available at http://davenportgrandjury.wordpress.com/resources/legal-documents/scotts-case/
2. April 16: "The Green Scare: Targeting Environmental and Animal Rights Activism" at CUNY

* When: Friday, April 16th, 4:15pm
* Where: The Graduate Center, City University of New York, 365 Fifth Avenue, Room 9204/9205
* Free and open to the public (with state issued ID for building access).

This event will explore the emerging use of the category of "eco-terrorism" to criminalize the work of environmental justice and animal rights activists, as well as its significance for academic research. Panelists will discuss the impacts of the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA) on civil rights and liberties; how the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and other laws have been used to quell animal rights litigation; and the case of Scott DeMuth, a University of Minnesota graduate student currently facing conspiracy charges under AETA for his research on the animal rights movement.

The event is part of the Third Annual Conference on "Rightist" Movements, this year focused on the production of "new enemies" in the name of security and the national interest in the post-September 11 context. A reception will follow.

Panelists include:
-Will Potter, Independent Journalist, GreenIsTheNewRed.com
-Raphi Rechitsky and Meghan Krausch, University of Minnesota, Scholars for
Academic Justice, http://scholarsforacademicjustice.org
-Odette Wilkens, Executive Director, Equal Justice Alliance, http://www.noaeta.org/
-Delcianna Winders, Animal Rights Attorney and Law Instructor

Moderated by Professor Michael Blim,
Ph.D. Program in Anthropology, The Graduate Center, CUNY

Co-sponsored by:
The Center for the Humanities, The Graduate Center, CUNY;
The Center for Place, Culture & Politics, The Graduate Center, CUNY;
Ph.D. Program in Anthropology, The Graduate Center, CUNY
3. April 22: "A Talk on Resistance and Repression: A Benefit for Legal Defense" in Chicago

* When: Thursday, April 22, 6-9pm
* Where: Biblioteca Popular, 1921 South Blue Island Ave, Chicago

With special guests:
- Luce Guillen-Givins, Rob Czernik and Garrett Fitzgerald of the RNC 8
- Recently released grand jury resister Carrie Feldman
- Paul Muller, former Marine and member of Iraq Veterans Against the War who went AWOL in order to avoid deployment

The evening will feature a discussion on governmental attempts to criminalize protest, organizing and dissent, and the communities that are resisting it. The talk will focus on three current cases against organizers and activists:

* The RNC 8 are 8 anarchists who organized against the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota in 2008. As a result of this organizing, they were arrested prior to the protests and charged with Conspiracy to Riot and Conspiracy to Commit Property Damage. They will be tried together in a trial scheduled for October 2010.

* Carrie Feldman and Scott DeMuth were subpoenaed to a federal grand jury in Iowa investigating an animal rights action. As a result of their political convictions, they refused to testify, which resulted in Carrie being jailed for four months and Scott being charged with "Conspiracy to Commit Animal Enterprise Terrorism," which is set to go to trial in May.

* Marc Hall is an Army Specialist who expressed opposition to being redeployed to Iraq and wrote a political hip-hop song protesting the Army's Stop-Loss policy, which the military deemed a "threat." As a result, he was arrested and is currently being held awaiting a US Court Martial in Iraq.

Suggested donations $5-20, with all funds raised split between Friends of the RNC 8, the Scott & Carrie Support Committee and Friends and Family of Marc Hall.

For more information on the legal cases, visit:

http://www.couragetoresist.org/

http://davenportgrandjury.wordpress.com/

http://rnc8.org/

4. April 24: "Supporting Earth Warriors through Art" in Minneapolis

* When: Saturday, April 24th, 2010, 6PM to 10PM (auction starts at 6 PM and ends at 9 PM)
* Where: Purity Bakery Building Art Gallery, 36th Ave and 5th St, Minneapolis

We will be having an Art Exhibition and Auction to help support our comrades Carrie Feldman and Scott DeMuth, two Minneapolis activists who were unjustly taken hostage by the state in November 2009, and Eric McDavid, who has been imprisoned since 2006 and is currently facing almost 20 years in prison for a crime that never happened.

For more information on Eric's case and ways to support him, please visit: http://www.supporteric.org.

Help be part of the creative resistance against state repression and send questions and/or the following details to explosiveexpressionsmpls@riseup.net:

-Name
-Contact information
-Starting bid on the auction item
-A description of the piece you are donating
-When the item can be picked up or dropped off

*Any items being dropped off or mailed can be sent to this address:
Explosive Expressions Mpls. c/o Leigh
1909 Elliot Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55405 

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