Animal Rightists Saved by Masks

FUR COMMISSION USA PRESS RELEASE, MARCH 19, 2000

Animal Rightists Saved by Masks

Special to FCUSA by Simon Ward

ANIMAL RIGHTISTS on trial for harassing a former Wisconsin mink farmer were saved by their masks when the prosecutor admitted he could not prove the case against them.

Judge Timothy van Akkeren threw out the case Mar. 17 against eight animal rightists charged with disorderly conduct while wearing a mask, a misdemeanor. Six others are scheduled for trial in April on the same charge. All served four days in jail, however, before being released on bail.

The incident occurred Jan. 16 in front of Gene Meyer’s farm in Sheboygan County. Meyer testified that a group of between 12 and 15 people harassed him from the public right of way in front of his farm. He told the court that he felt scared because the gang wore masks, were dressed in black, “like the grim reaper,” and chanted, jeered and taunted him.

The defendants, however, said that they had held a peaceful demonstration, and, if anyone had behaved in a disorderly fashion, it was Meyer.

Meyer admitted to using some colorful language, remembering that it was animal rightists that had brought his 41-year fur farming career to an end. Last August, all his mink were released, and he decided to retire rather than start again from scratch. “My language was terrible,” he said. “I was very, very upset. … My mink were my life.”

County prosecutor David Bayer argued that the activists could not have been engaged in a legitimate protest, since Meyer was no longer an active fur farmer and had informed them of this fact. Furthermore, they carried no signs, and had not alerted the media or the public to their plans.

“I don’t believe they were there to protest,” he said. “Nobody else was around, just Mr. Meyer. It was an attempt to see the fruits of victory. That is why they were taking photos of his place. They were there to rub Mr. Meyer’s nose in it.”

However, Bayer said he could not ethically continue to prosecute the case because guilt of disorderly conduct could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Complicating the case was the fact that not all the defendants could be identified, either by Meyer or by two passing motorists who had witnessed the incident. Furthermore, there were only 13 masks found in the activists’ truck and submitted as evidence, while 14 people were arrested, casting doubt on who was actually involved in the incident.

“This case is fraught with problems in terms of identification,” explained Bayer, “because they were wearing masks.”

In explaining his decision to drop the charges, Judge Van Akkeren added that even if some individuals were proven to have been disorderly, it would have been difficult to show how others had been party to the disorderly act.

On learning at his home of the judge’s decision, Meyer told the Sheboygan Press, “I’m disappointed, there’s no doubt about that, but I’m glad it’s over. Everybody did their best. But it’s surprising what you can get away with in our court system.”

See also:

Terrorists Walk from Wisconsin Jail FCUSA press release, Jan. 21, 2000.
Masked Terrorists Arrested for Harassing Wisconsin Farmer FCUSA press release, Jan. 18, 2000.