[Ppnews] 8 Reasons the Iowa ALF Investigation is a Fraud

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Thursday, March 04 2010 @ 03:15 PM UTC
http://news.infoshop.org/article.php?story=2010iowa-alf-fraud


8 Reasons the Iowa A.L.F. Investigation is a Fraud

Thursday, March 04 2010 @ 05:41 AM UTC

Contributed by: 
<http://news.infoshop.org/users.php?mode=profile&uid=14994>AnimalLiberation

Five years after the Animal Liberation Front 
raids the University of Iowa, the government 
launches a prosecution that is a fraud on its 
face From 
<http://www.voiceofthevoiceless.org/8-reasons-the-iowa-alf-investigation-is-a-farce/>Voice 
of the Voiceless

In late-2004, morning workers arrived at the 
Spence Laboratories to find $450,000 in damage to 
equipment and 401 animals missing. Graffiti left 
at the scene read "Science Not Sadism" and "Free 
The Animals". In a 
<http://www.nocompromise.org/news/041114iowalib.html>long 
communique, the Animal Liberation Front (A.L.F.) took credit.

Just before the 5-year statute of limitations was 
to expire (most federal crimes have an SoL of 5 
years), 
<http://davenportgrandjury.wordpress.com/>two 
Minneapolis activists were subpoenaed to testify 
to a grand jury in Davenport, IA. It soon became 
clear the grand jury was investigating the 
University of Iowa A.L.F. raid. Both were jailed 
after refusing to testify. Soon after, one of the 
two - Scott DeMuth - was indicted for Animal Enterprise Terrorism.

Those I have spoken to close to the case awe at 
the bizarre, unprofessional, and legally unsound 
nature of the entire prosecution. As one person 
told me: "When all the facts come out, this DA is 
going to be very embarrassed".

All indicators are that the government rushed 
through an indictment they knew would not stand, 
in order to freeze the clock on the statute of 
limitations and buy time to build a more solid 
case. The case has all the markings of a 
desperate and unconstitutional prosecution 
motivated by an attempt to save face after 5 
years of failing to apprehend the Animal Liberation Front.



Eight Reasons the Iowa A.L.F. Investigation is a Fraud

Feldman was 15 at the time of the raid

<http://davenportgrandjury.wordpress.com/>Carrie 
Feldman, incarcerated for refusing testimony to 
the grand jury, was a 15 year old sophomore in 
high school at the time of the raid. Yet a judge 
has stated the government admitted...
"...it sought Ms. Feldman's testimony because it 
believes she had knowledge of "a break-in of the 
University of Iowa Spence Laboratories in November, 2004."

And in a dissenting opinion on Carrie Feldman's 
(denied) motion for release, a judge said:
"...I am concerned by the necessary implication 
raised in this matter that the government is 
seeking Ms. Feldman's testimony for the sole 
purpose of gathering additional information to 
support its indictment against Mr. DeMuth."

DeMuth was 17 at the time of the raid

Unlike Feldman, Scott DeMuth is accused of direct 
participation in the A.L.F. action (prosecutors 
have stated they believe he is featured in a 
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SirWRwVyHQ>video 
made of the raid). 17 at the time, DeMuth is 
implicated in an action that has the appearance 
of one of the most complex and expertly executed 
in the Animal Liberation Front's history. 
According the media reports and the A.L.F. 
communiqué, activists picked locks, bypassed four 
layers of security, used stolen key cards to 
access labs, and removed 401animals from the 
building undetected. At 17, DeMuth is accused of 
an action requiring this level of skill.

DeMuth was not told he was a target of the grand jury

Furthering evidence DeMuth's indictment was 
reprisal for his refusal to testify, he was not 
told he was a target of the grand jury when 
subpoenaed, as required by law. This bolsters the 
case that DeMuth's indictment was motivated by 
spite, and was an afterthought to his refusal to testify.

The statute of limitations had expired

The indictment was issued four days after the 
five-year statute of limitations had expired. An appellate court judge stated:
"The district court abused its discretion when it 
found Ms. Feldman in contempt of court because it 
failed to consider a significant relevant factor, 
i.e., whether the statute of limitations had run 
on the crime for which the government seeks Ms. 
Feldman's testimony....the government itself 
cites no authority for the proposition it can 
abuse the grand jury process to compel a witness 
to testify regarding a crime for which the statute of limitations has expired."

Indictment is unconstitutionally incomplete

Demuth's original indictment was so "shockingly 
vague" (defense lawyers), it failed to provide 
the following basic information: the elements of 
the alleged offense, supporting facts and 
circumstances, the law alleged to have been 
violated, identifying an element of interstate 
activity, providing a date range of the alleged 
conspiracy, where the conspiracy is alleged to 
have taken place, and basic information as to 
what he is accused of. The one-page indictment 
was practically void of any information with 
which DeMuth could prepare a defense, including 
any information on what crime he is alleged to have committed.

Law DeMuth charged under did not exist in 2004

Scott DeMuth is charged under the Animal 
Enterprise Terrorism Act, a law that did not 
exist until 2006 - two years after the University of Iowa raid.

A quote from the motion to dismiss the indictment:
"....respectfully moves that his indictment be 
dismissed since the charges brought against him 
are under a statute which was not the law at the time of the alleged offense."

Only evidence is DeMuth's "resemblance" to person in grainy film

The only evidence the prosecutor has stated to 
support DeMuth's involvement is his "resemblance" 
to an individual in a video of the raid. The 
video of the rescue, taken by the A.L.F., is a 
grainy black and white film showing activists 
loading animals onto carts and taking them from 
the lab. Video would be damning evidence.... were 
all activists on the video not wearing masks.

DeMuth is not a vegetarian

In perhaps the most absurd example, the 
government made the folly of charging someone for 
an A.L.F. action who is not even a vegetarian. In 
fact, the man accused of conspiring to rescue rats from a lab is a bow-hunter.

Conclusion: The jailing of Carrie Feldman and 
indictment of Scott DeMuth appears to be 
motivated by the following factors: desperation, 
spite, and / or a need to freeze the statute of 
limitation and buy time to build a substantive case.

The combined factors make the University of Iowa 
A.L.F. case among the most egregious examples of 
prosecutorial overzealousness in the animal liberation movement's history.

- Peter Young




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