Two Oakland "animal rights extremists" have been hit with charges of terrorism for an cross-country animal liberation spree.
Joseph Buddenberg, 31, and Nicole Kissane, 28 of Oakland were arrested on Friday and charged with conspiracy to violate the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act. During the summer of 2013, prosecutors say the two drove across the country and committed acts such as freeing thousands of animals from fur farms, vandalizing meat and fur businesses, and even vandalizing the homes of individuals.
According to SFGate, the two went on a 40,000-mile road trip across the country, with stops in Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Montana and Pennsylvania. Along the way they freed 5,600 minks and even a bobcat from fur farms. In California, the activists vandalized a San Diego furrier and the homes of both its current and former owner. In San Francisco, they slashed the tires of a meat distributor.
The two were unemployed during the trip and funded it by selling things on eBay. During their campaign, they publicized their exploits as "communiques" on animal rights websites using public computers.
"Whatever your feelings about the fur industry, there are legal ways to make your opinions known," said U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy in a statement, who added that their acts constituted "domestic terrorism."
"What we're doing to animals is extreme," Direct Action Network spokesman Brian Burns told KPIX. "Given the horrible violence that occurs every day in the fur industry, you can understand why certain people would take these actions into their own hands."
Buddenberg and Kissane both face up to 10 years in prison and $250,000 in fines. In 2009, Buddenberg was one of four facing similar charges for threatening Cal and UC Santa Cruz researchers—those charges were thrown out.