[Ppnews] Prosecutor Tries to Keep Minneapolis Activists Jailed

[Political Prisoner News]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 27, 2009

MEDIA ADVISORY
Contact: Earth Warriors are OK! (EWOK!) hotline 
(Natalia Shulkin) 612-293-9657, <mailto:ewok at riseup.net>ewok at riseup.net

Federal Prosecutor Tries to Keep Minneapolis 
Activists Jailed for Their Political Beliefs

Federal court hearing scheduled Monday for Scott 
DeMuth charged under the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act

Davenport, IA -- Using sensational and 
inflammatory language, the federal government 
accused recently indicted activist Scott DeMuth 
on Wednesday of being a “domestic terrorist” in 
an effort to keep him imprisoned until trial. 
DeMuth, a Dakota activist from Minneapolis who 
has worked for many years to support political 
prisoners, was indicted November 18th for 
conspiracy to “commit animal enterprise terrorism 
and cause economic damage to the animal 
enterprise in an amount exceeding $10,000.” The 
indictment is related to an Animal Liberation 
Front (ALF) action at the University of Iowa in 
2004, in which research equipment was damaged and 
hundreds of animals were set free. The indictment 
came a day before the statute of limitations on 
the 2004 action was to expire. DeMuth will be 
tried under the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, 
widely criticized by groups such as the Center 
for Constitutional Rights as unconstitutional.

What: Ruling on the release of federal defendant Scott DeMuth
When: By 4pm on Monday, November 30th, 2009
Where: U.S. District Court, 131 E. Fourth St., Davenport, Iowa

Prosecutor Cliff Cronk argued that DeMuth's 
association with anarchist movements makes him a 
domestic terrorist, illuminating the larger issue 
of  "terrorism" being redefined in order to 
suppress dissent. Anarchism is a political 
ideology whose adherents believe in cooperation rather than coercion.

“Political beliefs are not a legitimate reason to 
detain a defendant awaiting trial,” said Thomas 
Addo of Earth Warriors are OK! “By 
sensationalizing DeMuth’s political work and 
beliefs, the federal government attempts to 
divert attention from the fact that they have 
little to no evidence with which to prosecute 
him,” continued Addo. “As a graduate student in 
the Sociology Department, as well as a Dakota 
language student at the University of Minnesota, 
DeMuth is well integrated in the Minneapolis 
community and should be released in order to continue his studies.”

DeMuth was jailed on November 17th along with 
Carrie Feldman, another activist from the Twin 
Cities, after both of them refused to cooperate 
with what they called a politically motivated 
grand jury. Feldman, who was found to be in civil 
contempt, may be forced to remain in jail for the 
life of the grand jury, up to 11 more months. In 
a statement made to the grand jury before she was 
found in contempt, Feldman denounced the use of 
grand juries as a coercive “tool of the 
prosecution,” and asserted that they are used to 
“investigate and intimidate those who would 
express dissent.” Supporters have organized a 
call-in campaign on Monday to demand that U.S. 
Attorney Nicholas Klinefeldt dismiss the subpoena 
issued for Feldman and secure her release.

After a psychological evaluation concluded that 
DeMuth was emotionally healthy and at no risk of 
flight, U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas J. Shields 
ruled that DeMuth did not have to remain in jail 
until trial, and on Tuesday issued an order for 
his release. Federal prosecutor Cliff Cronk 
responded by filing a motion to keep him in 
custody on Wednesday, claiming DeMuth is a danger 
to the community and a flight risk. So far, the 
only evidence Cronk has supplied has been a 
journal of DeMuth’s children’s stories and a 
lock-picking device found in the common foyer of 
his home. Both items were seized by police four 
years after the incident in a raid prior to the 
2008 Republican National Convention that targeted activists.

Supporters claim that DeMuth has become yet 
another target of the “Green Scare,” a term used 
to refer to the Federal government's campaign to 
intimidate animal and earth liberation activists. 
The Green Scare is just one campaign among many 
that the Federal government uses to repress 
social movements. Other recent targets of grand 
juries have included the San Francisco 8 case 
against former Black Panthers, and the Puerto 
Rican Independence movement following the FBI 
assassination of movement leader Filiberto Ojeda Rios in 2005.

Further Information:
·DeMuth’s indictment: 
<http://davenportgrandjury.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/scottindictmentredacted.pdf>http://davenportgrandjury.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/scottindictmentredacted.pdf
·Magistrate’s order for DeMuth’s release: 
<http://voiceofthevoiceless.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/demuth-order-on-detention.pdf> 
http://davenportgrandjury.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/scottbondreleaseorder.pdf
·Justice Department’s motion to revoke DeMuth’s 
release order: 
<http://voiceofthevoiceless.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/government-motion-for-demuth1.pdf> 
http://davenportgrandjury.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/govtmot4miscreliefreleaseorder.pdf
·More info on Scott DeMuth and Carrie Feldman: 
<http://davenportgrandjury.wordpress.com/>http://davenportgrandjury.wordpress.com/



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