Jan 21, 9:22 am

[opinion from Bay Area Indymedia]


Environmentalist Witch-Hunt Underway. (Hopefully) Coherent Summary.
author: my name is ruth
Fight the Corporate Media Spin. This summary was written to help
spread the word to family, friends, progressively minded comrades
about the Green Witch Hunt currently underway. So get to it - spread
the word
Environmental Witch-Hunt Under Way!


Re-posted by deanosor who is responsible for the changed title


In Germany, they first came for the communists, and I didn't speak up
because I wasn't a communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I
didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade
unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics and I didn't speak up because I
wasn't a Catholic. Then they came for me -- and by that time there was
nobody left to speak up.
-Martin Niemoller


The environmental community is under attack. Speak up before they come
for you...


In 2002 a federal jury found the FBI and the Oakland Police guilty of
violating Judi Bari and Daryl Cherney's first amendment rights by
framing them as terrorists following an assassination attempt made on
Bari and Cherney in order to discredit Earth First! Right now
environmentalists across the country are being swept up in an
eco-activist witch-hunt that many suspect is similarly designed to
discredit the environmental movement.


On January 20, 2006 11 individuals (a 12th died in custody) were
indicted on 65 charges addressing almost every unsolved act of earth
liberation vandalism, including the infamous arson of the proposed ski
resort in Vail, Colorado. The bells and whistles' announcement of
these indictments by Attorney General Gonzales corresponded almost
simultaneously with the start of unofficial congressional hearings on
the Bush administration's illegal wiretapping program. Some have
suggested that this timing may not be coincidence combining
wide-spread discrediting of the environmental movement with a
distraction from the Bush administration's own unlawful surveillance
of United States' citizens.


Of the individuals in custody, almost all have publicly proclaimed
innocence. Some have very openly stated that they have no affiliation
with the ELF or any like organization. We very possibly have many
individuals facing decades in prison for crimes of vandalism they
didn't commit. This is not the time to be silent. What happened to
Judi Bari and Daryl Cherney could happen again, and this time under
the increased public hysteria over "terrorism."
...
Another Important Case We Should Keep An Eye On:
The SHAC 7 (https://www.shac7.com) begin trial on Feb 6th in Trenton NJ
facing an aggregate 23 years in prison for what should be protected
free speech. They are alleged to have operated a website that reported
on and expressed ideological support for protest activity against
Huntingdon and its business affiliates. For this they are charged with
"terrorism" under the controversial Federal Animal Enterprise
Terrorism Act. The Bush administration started this renewed attack on
civil liberties with the animal rights movement hoping they would be
marginalized even within progressive movements. This case will produce
a dangerous precedent resulting in the government's ability to
successfully persecute more mainstream progressive organizations and
organizers.


--
full story:
https://www.indybay.org/news/2006/01/1796923.php