U.S. Attorney Clifford R. Cronk III is using his office’s investigation of a 2004 animal rights-related break-in at the University of Iowa to harass and punish targets whom he claims identify as anarchists, a political ideology dating back to the early 19th Century. To date, neither his superiors in the Department of Justice, nor the federal courts, have done anything to curtail his abuse of power. In behavior reminiscent of the darkest days of the McCarthy witch hunts, Cronk argues in court documents that anarchists are domestic terrorists who should be locked up for posing a threat to civil society based on nothing but the prosecutor’s unfounded political bias.

Thursday morning, Minneapolis grand jury resister Scott DeMuth was charged with conspiracy to commit animal enterprise terrorism in Davenport, Iowa federal court.  He is currently being held in the disciplinary block at the Muscatine County Jail after he was found to be in civil contempt of court for refusing to cooperate with the grand jury that convened in Davenport on Tuesday.  Because the civil contempt charge was later dropped, on Friday he attended a hearing to decide on his possible release on unsecured bond; a final decision has not yet been made by the court.  

The federal government's Green Scare campaign took another depressing turn Tuesday morning as a federal district judge in Iowa ordered the detainment of Twin Cities activists Scott DeMuth and Carrie Feldman at a contempt hearing. As previously reported, DeMuth and Feldman were subpoenaed to a grand jury in Davenport, Iowa, compelling them to testify regarding a animal rights-related vandalism incident at the University of Iowa.

Almost a month after Twin Cities activist Carrie Feldman was subpoenaed to an Iowa grand jury, another activist was served a subpoena on the same street corner at the same time and same day of the week.  Late Monday afternoon, Scott DeMuth's car was surrounded by a gaggle of local and federal unmarked vehicles on 31st Street near Powderhorn Park.  Several men got out, nervously walked to the car, and handed DeMuth the subpoena requesting his fingerprints.

Both activists have been asked to appear next Tuesday before the Davenport, Iowa grand jury that appears to be investigating a 2004 Animal Liberation Front action targeting vivisection at the University of Iowa.  At the time, Feldman was a 15-year-old high school sophomore in Minneapolis.

Fifteen I-69 opponents were arrested Monday morning blocking the entrance to Gohmann Asphalt, and need your support and solidarity. Many of them are being held on trumped up felony charges, and some of the female-bodied arrestees have been put in exceedingly unsafe situations.