Inside an A.L.F. Investigation: FBI Documents Expose Evidence in A.L.F. Case

Sunday, March 28 2010 @ 09:15 PM UTC
Contributed by: AnimalLiberation
Views: 364[Image]In March 2009, William “BJ” Viehl and Alex Hall were charged with Animal Enterprise Terrorism for the release of 650 mink from the McMullin Fur Farm in South Jordan, UT; and an attempted raid at Blackridge Farms in Hyrum UT. While their case is well-known, little has been written of the evidence which led to their indictment.
An inside look at the FBI evidence which led to indictments for a Utah Animal Liberation Front mink releaseFrom Voice of the Voiceless
In March 2009, William “BJ” Viehl and Alex Hall were charged with Animal Enterprise Terrorism for the release of 650 mink from the McMullin Fur Farm in South Jordan, UT; and an attempted raid at Blackridge Farms in Hyrum UT. While their case is well-known, little has been written of the evidence which led to their indictment.
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After Viehl’s sentencing, I was allowed to view FBI paperwork in their case, outlining the evidence against them. It offers crucial lessons on FBI investigations, and the errors activists make which can lead to their arrest.
In the paperwork, I learned the investigation into the Utah mink releases involved informants, cell phone records, search warrants, and more.
This article uses the case against Alex Hall and William Viehl as a case study in the anatomy of an Animal Liberation Front indictment: the evidence, and the lessons learned.
The Evidence
#1: Car key left at the scene
The most damning evidence was a car key found in the grass at the McMullin Fur Farm the morning after the raid. The key was later matched to Viehl’s vehicle. Viehl would later say the key had fallen from a shallow pocket while he was releasing mink.
#2: Cell phone records
The second most damning evidence against Viehl – and nearly the only evidence against Hall – is cell phone records placing them (or more accurately, their phones) near the mink farm in South Jordan around the time of the raid. Cell phone company records allegedly recorded the signals unique to each phone “pinging” off nearby towers before, during, and after the time of the mink release.
It should be well known at this point that every cell phone regularly broadcasts a signal which pinpoints the location of a phone. This leaves a nearly permanent record of the times and places of one’s travels (or at least the location of one’s phone). Cell phones also function as roving microphones, which can be turned on remotely and can pick up all conversation within earshot of a phone’s mouthpiece – even when the phone is turned off.
#3: Informants
An informant named “Sarah”, believed to be planted in the Salt Lake City animal rights movement by the FBI, was revealed in the paperwork. She attended animal rights meetings, protests, and the Confronting Cruelty conference in the spring of 2008. Paperwork refers to her only as “CHS (Confidential Human Source)”. However, those familiar with her were able to determine her identity from details in the paperwork. Salt Lake City activists remember her as asking a lot of inappropriate questions, and taking extensive notes at meetings. FBI paperwork shows she provided information on numerous individuals in the local animal rights movement.
I can personally verify the existence of “Sarah”: she befriended me at an animal rights conference under the pretext of seeking help for starting a dog rescue in Guatemala. “Sarah” would later take me on an all-expenses paid weekend trip to Moab, Utah in the fall of 2008.
View FBI reports of information reported by "Sarah":
"Confidential Human Source" Document #1
"Confidential Human Source" Document #2
"Confidential Human Source" Document #3
At least two other individuals consented to interviews with the FBI. The information obtained did not appear to aid the FBI’s case, but that in no way mitigates the seriousness of forfeiting your constitutional rights by talking to law enforcement.
#4: Being ID’d near mink farms
The pair had been stopped by police near Utah two mink farms in the weeks following the McMullin release.
Late one night in October 2008, a mink farmer who had stayed up all night to watch her farm (after two mink releases had occurred in the previous 6 weeks) in Hyrum, UT, followed a car she believed was suspicious. She claims the car pulled over after a short while, and approached her asking why she was following them. The farmer called police. Viehl and Hall were allegedly ID’d as the occupants.
Two weeks before 7,000 mink were released from the Lodder farm in Kaysville, Hall and Viehl were allegedly stopped by police near the farm. The officer alleged there had been burglaries in the area, and believed the two were casing homes. A subsequent search of the vehicle allegedly turned up ski masks and wire cutters.
#5: Warrantless bank record search
Without a warrant, Viehl’s bank turned over bank records showing (again, allegedly) Viehl hired a locksmith to open his vehicle in the days after the McMullin raid. Because a car key fitting Viehl’s vehicle had been found at the scene, this was used by the prosecutor to further indicate guilt.
#6: Vehicle search
The FBI obtained a search warrant to search a vehicle associated with Viehl. The key left at the mink farm was allegedly found to match the vehicle.
Conclusion
In the end, the car key found at the scene and cell phone record placing the phones near the farm the night of the raid provided the most incriminating evidence. The cell phone records are practically the only evidence being used in the (still pending) case against Alex Hall.
While evidence left at a scene and cell phone records cast one under a serious cloud of suspicion, they alone do not conclusively place the defendant at the scene. Evidence such as keys can be planted by the actual culprits to incriminate others, and cell phones being near a crime scene do not prove their owners were. However the supplemental, circumstantial evidence of the pair being ID’d near mink farms may have proven to be the deal-breaker in this case – or at least it provided much less wiggle-room in mounting a defense.
The indictment against William Viehl and Alex Hall is a combination of unfortunate errors and dumb luck on the part of fur farmers and the FBI. The evidence provides insight into the mechanics of FBI investigations, and how activists are apprehended for saving animals.
May future liberators learn from this case, and stay free to fight another night.
-Peter Young
William Viehl plead guilty to the McMullin Fur Farm liberation, and in February was sentenced to two years. At the time of this writing, he is in transit to California, where he will serve his time at a low security prison in Terminal Island. Check back soon for a mailing address.
Alex Hall has plead “not guilty” and is still fighting the charges, with the flimsy cell phone records evidence being the only substantial evidence against him.
Alex Hall Inmate #2009-06304 Davis County Jail 800 West State St. Farmington, UT 84025

International day against Islamic law of Stoning woman to death- video-Sweden

 http://www.azadi-b.com/J/2010/07/post_44.html

 http://www.azadi-b.com/J/2010/07/post_44.html




International Sakine Ashtiani Day
Below are rallies and events organised for International Sakine Ashtiani Day: World Citizens against Stoning - 24 July 2010.
Day asking for end to Stoning, Executions and Tortures in Iran.




 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2010/07/456004.html

IDF soldier who shot British peace activist to be released from jail

British peace activist Thomas Hurndall who was killed by the IDF in the Gaza Strip in April 2003.

IDF soldier who shot British peace activist to be released from jail

A former IDF soldier who was found guilty of manslaughter in the 2003 shooting death of British peace activist Thomas Hurndall in the Gaza Strip will be released early from prison next month.

Taysir Heib was sentenced in 2005 to eight years in prison for manslaughter as well as obstruction of justice and giving false testimony. The decision to shorten his sentence was made by an army committee, against the advice of Military Advocate General Brig. Gen. Avichai Mendelblit.Hurndall, a 22-year-old student, was shot in the head in April 2003 as he was photographing the work of International Solidarity Movement activists. Witnesses said Hurndall had been helping Palestinian children avoid IDF tanks.

In his investigation, Heib initially claimed he had fired on an armed Palestinian, enlisting supporting testimony from another soldier in his unit. A few months later, however, the second soldier told Military Police investigators that he had not witnessed the incident.

In the verdict, the judges upheld all the arguments of the military prosecution, outlining and emphasizing the series of false and contradictory versions of the incident provided by Heib throughout the investigation.

The judges found that Heib had shot Hurndall with a sniper's rifle, using a telescopic sight, and that Heib had given a "confused and pathetic" version of events to the court.

The court also referred to a confession by the defendant in which he said he had wanted to teach Hurndall a lesson for entering a forbidden zone. Heib admitted to aiming 10 centimeters to the left of Hurndall's head to frighten him and inadvertently shooting the activist.

ISM members often place themselves between IDF troops and Palestinians in an effort to prevent military operations.

Sophie Hurndall, Tom's older sister, said the family had not been informed by Israeli authorities about the early release, but rather found out about it when someone from the British foreign office called with the news.

“We have not had time to regroup or work out what is going on. We have barely had time to process the news and we all feel angry and shocked,” she said, adding that they had long feared such a thing would happen. “We have had to deal with cover ups and lies and a total lack of accountability throughout - and this is in line with that. It's symptomatic.”

Hurndall said the family’s anger is not focused on Heib himself, but rather on the IDF and Israel as a whole.

“To be honest, it’s about the system. Not the man himself. This man who shot Tom was the same age as him. He is both the victim and the killer. He is part of a system that proactively encouraged soldier to target civilian," she said.
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As Hunrdall sees it, the early release sends a message from Israeli to its young soldiers, "telling them 'do what you want. We have your back.’”

Israel, she concluded, simply does not care what people think of it in the international community: “So many innocent [people] killed in so many horrific ways. They just don’t seem to care about anyone.”

Hurndall also criticized her own government, which, under the leadership of then-prime minister Tony Blair, did not come out, she claims, strongly against the killing and now has had a muted response as well.

“It's incredibly sad. One of the things that happened to me since my brother was killed is that I have lost faith in humanity. I cannot believe that people can do such things, and that my own government can sit by and keep quiet," she said.
 

The British Foreign Office issued an official statement in response, saying "we note the court's decision today to release Taysir Heib and recognize the grief this decision will cause to the Hurndall family. We have the deepest of sympathies for the Hurndall family. Tom's death was a tragedy."