“Terrorism” Law Targeting Animal Rights Activists is Unconstitutional, Attorneys Argue in Court » North American Animal Liberation Press Office
September 21, 2016, Chicago – Today, attorneys from the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) argued before the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, urging the court to strike down the federal Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA). In United States v. Johnson, two animal rights activists were convicted of “terrorism” under the AETA for freeing thousands of mink from a Midwestern fur farm, for which they faced up to 10 years in federal prison. CCR challenged their conviction, arguing that punishing non-violent activity as “terrorism” is an unconstitutional denial of due process, and that on its face the AETA punishes constitutionally protected expression, violating the First Amendment.
“These defendants engaged in what was essentially an act of non-violent civil disobedience: breaking laws that treat animals as ‘property’ in order to save their lives,” said Center for Constitutional Rights Senior Staff Attorney Rachel Meeropol, who argued today. “To punish them as terrorists renders that word completely meaningless.”
September 21, 2016, Chicago – Today, attorneys from the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) argued before the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, urging the court to strike down the federal Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA). In United States v. Johnson, two animal rights activists were convicted of “terrorism” under the AETA for freeing thousands of mink from a Midwestern fur farm, for which they faced up to 10 years in federal prison. CCR challenged their conviction, arguing that punishing non-violent activity as “terrorism” is an unconstitutional denial of due process, and that on its face the AETA punishes constitutionally protected expression, violating the First Amendment.
“These defendants engaged in what was essentially an act of non-violent civil disobedience: breaking laws that treat animals as ‘property’ in order to save their lives,” said Center for Constitutional Rights Senior Staff Attorney Rachel Meeropol, who argued today. “To punish them as terrorists renders that word completely meaningless.”