Cracking
Down on Animal Rights Violence
Last week, 23-year-old animal rights activist Chris McIntosh
was sentenced for the 2003 arson of a fast-food restaurant in Seattle. Claiming
credit for the fire in the name of both the Earth Liberation Front and Animal
Liberation Front, McIntosh called an arson tip line hours after igniting a
firebomb, announcing: "There was an ELF/ALF hit at McDonald's ... There will be
more. As long as Mother Earth is pillaged, raped, destroyed. As long as
McDonald's keeps hurting our furry brothers, there will be more." When he
raised his right hand to be sworn before entering his guilty plea in September,
McIntosh revealed the letters "H-A-T-E" tattooed onto four fingers.
McIntosh raised some additional eyebrows in July when he
issued a jailhouse letter to Seattle's activist community, advocating even more
violence:
I no longer see the use or satisfying results of
petitions and demonstrations. The truth is the crunch has come, and it's time
for a feral rampage in everyone's heart! Whether it's wreaking drunken havoc
upon the civilized pillars of society or some other way that gets you off, we
are the barbarian hordes. Let's sack Rome!
Also last week, federal authorities arrested six activists
in connection with other arsons committed in the names of the ALF and ELF. One
of those was the decidedly animal-rights-motivated 1999 arson of a meatpacking
plant. The suspect in this case, Chelsea Dawn Gerlach, is also now the prime
suspect in a $12 million arson fire that destroyed a development project at the
Vail, Colorado ski resort.
Given the increased focus of federal law enforcement
agencies on crimes like these, yesterday's news that the FBI has pursued a
"domestic terrorism" investigation against People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals (PETA) comes as no surprise. As we outlined in a detailed press release
this morning, PETA has a long history of supporting and encouraging unlawful
activity - - including violence -- in the name of "total animal liberation."
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