You’d think they’d learn. The Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade is already being sued by Jacques Ferber Furs under the civil provisions of RICO — essentially the fur store claims that CAFT is engaged in a conspiracy of illegal intimidation and harassment in order to drive legitimate enterprises out of business. CAFT, of course, denies the charge but since the lawsuit was filed there have been a number of incidents where people associated with CAFT have been arrested while attempting to or for allegedly planning to engage in illegal activities.
In the latest incident, CAFT member Bhaskar Sinha was arrested in front of the Neiman Marcus store in San Francisco’s Union Square after allegedly confronting musician Ted Nugent and threatening to kill him. She is currently being held on a $20,000 bond charged with one charge of battery and attempt to terrorize.
Nugent was in San Francisco to perform with Kiss Sunday night and went to Neiman Marcus to shop. After leaving the store, Nugent told police that he got into an argument with CAFT activists who were handing out leaflets denouncing the fur trade. Nugent told police that Shina threatened to kill him.
The CAFT activists, meanwhile, claim Nugent spit on them and threatened them. A judge will get to start sorting the mess out today as Shina appears makes a court appearance. If Nugent’s claims hold up in court, this will be one more piece of evidence that will be used to drive the nail in the coffin of CAFT at its RICO trial.
Source:
Fur-for-All as Outspoken Rock Star Confronts S.F. Protesters. Mark Martin, Pervaiz Shallwani, San Francisco Chronicle, July 31, 2000.