Masked Terrorists Arrested for Harassing Wisconsin Farmer

FUR COMMISSION USA PRESS RELEASE, JANUARY 18, 2000
Masked Terrorists Arrested for Harassing Wisconsin Farmer
For an update on this same incident, see Terrorists Walk from Wisconsin Jail, FCUSA press release, Jan. 21.
FOURTEEN ANIMAL RIGHTS TERRORISTS are being held by police in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, after harassing a mink farmer who retired after his farm was raided just five months ago.
On January 16, two van-loads of terrorists arrived at the farm of Gene Meyer in Plymouth. Wearing masks, they proceeded to harass and terrify Meyer before departing.
Thankfully, a neighbor had the presence of mind to note down the license plates of the vans. A call was put through to the police and all the terrorists were arrested shortly after and charged with disorderly conduct while masked. Bail was set from $200 to $750, but none of the protesters has paid.
A visibly shaken Meyer commented, “It’s terrifying to see masked hoodlums coming at you. Without the quick thinking of our neighbors, we never would have caught them.”
This was not the first time for Meyer to receive the unwelcome attention of animal rights terrorists. On August 9 last year, 3,000 mink were released from his farm at the same time as arsonists torched the United Feeds feed mill just 10 minutes away, causing $1.2 million in damage.(1) Responsibility for both attacks was claimed by the Animal Liberation Front.
Familiar Faces
Now in police custody for the latest incident are 14 suspects, ranging in age from 17 to 39: Kim Berardi, Matthew Bullard, Eric Bartholomae, Sara Schmidt, Joshua Schwartz, Stephanie Clausen-Stout, Jeremiah Dunbar, Julie Geldner, Kate Peterson, Fred Tyler, Ami Voeltz, Frank Winbigler, Daniel Scorangello and Michael Durschmid.
Best known to the fur-farming community is Kim Berardi, 22, director of the Animal Defense League – Chicago. Berardi is already facing charges for the February 1999 masked invasion of the Brainard Fur Farm in Washington State,(2) and also faces probation violations in Pennsylvania.
Another familiar face is Matthew Bullard, 25, of the Student Organization for Animal Rights (SOAR) in Minnesota, who was briefly imprisoned after perching atop a tower at the University of Minnesota during last summer’s Primate Freedom Tour.(3)
The terrorists’ visit to Meyer’s farm followed protests outside the International Mink Show, held January 14-16 in Milwaukee, in which Berardi and Bullard played active roles. Masked protesters offered a $25,000 bounty for information leading to the conviction of a fur farmer for mistreating animals, and displayed a large “Wanted” poster of FCUSA Executive Director Teresa Platt, which included her home address.(4)
“Due to the escalation of eco- and animal rights terrorism, we are asking the leadership in the animal rights and environmental movements to condemn these terrorist tactics,” stated Platt. “Black-hooded terrorists bullying a farmer at his home on a Sunday afternoon is just another form of terrorism. These tactics are designed to silence half the participants in full and open debate, and are condemned by those of us who support free speech.”
Notes:
-(1) See Animal-Use Abolitionists Continue 1999 Road Trip of Vandalism and Arson FCUSA press release, Aug. 9, 1999.
-(2) See Quick Arrest for Bungling Terrorists FCUSA press release, Feb. 23, 1999.
-(3) For more information on the Primate Freedom Tour, see Fur Farm Letter (monthly newsletter of FCUSA), August 1999.
-(4) See also Reflections on Being Burned in Effigy Commentary by FCUSA Executive Director Teresa Platt, Sept. 19, 1999.
-
For further information contact Fur Commission USA.
Home
© 1998-2011 Fur Commission USA