PETA and terrorists

Guess what, folks? PETA supports terrorism. Don't believe me? Check out their IRS Form 990 from FY 2000 (you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the file). They recorded a $1500 donation to the North American Earth Liberation Front (ELF, who, along with their sister group the Animal Liberation Front, or ALF, the FBI considers to be the most active domestic terrorist group in the country). The explanation on PETA's IRS Form 990 says "to support their program activities", which was what every single donation made in FY 2000 was for. I smell poor record keeping. Anyhow, what program activities could that money possibly support? Arson? The ELF is an illegal organization. All of their program activities are illegal. PETA should lose their 501(c)3 status for this, and the PETA leadership should be thrown in jail. But the FBI can't do anything because PETA hides behind the First Amendment. A while ago, in 2002, there was a debate about this donation, but, obviously, nothing came of it. PETA is still a 501(c)3 organization.

PETA hasn't only given money to terrorist organizations. They have also paid for the criminal defence of terrorists, sometimes illegally, and they have given money to terrorists for no apparent reason. They paid nearly $70,000 to ALF arsonist Rodney Coranado in 1998, for example. They later paid for his criminal defence after her was arrested for firebombing a Michigan State University research facility. When ALF operative Roger Troen was convicted of burglary and arson at the University of Oregon, in which $36,000 in damage was inflicted, PETA not only paid his legal fees, which amounted to $27,000, but also his fine, which was $34,900. Gary Thorud, a PETA whistleblower, testified under oath that PETA was "illegally funding this individual with money solicited for other causes, and Ingrid [Newkirk] was using that money, bragging to the staff that she had spent $25,000 on the case." (Berosini v. PETA)

Now, let's take a look at what PETA spokespeople have said when it comes to terrorism:

"Arson, property destruction, burglary and theft are acceptable crimes when used for the animal cause." (Alex Pacheco, President of PETA at the time, and it's co-founder, 1989)

"We cannot condemn the Animal Liberation Front...They act courageously, risking their freedom and their careers to stop the terror inflicted every day on animals in the labs. [ALF's activities] comprise an important part of today's animal protection movement." (a 1991 PETA statement concerning ALF violence in the Pacific Northwest)

"We're at war, and we'll do what we need to win." (Dan Matthews, celebrity recruiter for PETA, 1991)

"I wish we all would get up and go into the labs and take the animals out or burn them down." (Ingrid Newkirk President and co-founder of PETA, 1997)

"When I hear of anyone walking into a lab and walking out with animals, my heart sings." (Ingrid Newkirk, 1992)

And this gem:
“

"If we really believe that these animals do have the same right to be free from pain and suffering at our hands, then, of course we’re going to be, as a movement, blowing stuff up and smashing windows. For the record, I don’t do this stuff, but I do advocate it. I think it’s a great way to bring about animal liberation … I think it would be a great thing if all of these fast-food outlets, and these slaughterhouses, and these laboratories, and the banks that fund them exploded tomorrow. I think it’s perfectly appropriate for people to take bricks and toss them through the windows, and everything else along the line. Hallelujah to the people who are willing to do it." (Bruce Friedrich, PETA's Vegan Campaign Coordinator, 2001)

Now, I have talked to lawyers, and they have assured me that if I said things like what these people say, and someone attacked a PETA facility or started harassing their leadership after reading what I had said, I would be royally fucked, legally speaking. Yet these people are able to encourage and fund terrorism and then hide behind the First Amendment. Why is that?

So, what can you do? Lobby your Congressional representative and your Senators, and raise some hell with them. Letter writing is especially effective. File complaints with Homeland Security and the IRS about PETA's little "gift" to the ELF. Sending money to terrorists should be illegal. Help make it illegal.