In September the American Legislative Exchange Council put forth model legislation to deal with groups and individuals who commit terrorist acts inspired by animal rights and environmentalist ideologies.
Its proposed Animal and Ecological Terrorism Act would make any act of animal rights or environmental criminal act that results in more than $500 in damages a felony and allow the victim of such acts to bring civil action to recover up to three times the damages done by such an act (in a couple states where the AETA has been introduced, however, the penalty schedule has been modified somewhat).
The Act also explicitly calls for punishments for anyone who aids or abets such acts of terrorism, defined as,
Participating in or supporting animal or ecological terrorism to include raising, soliciting, collecting or providing any person with material, financial support or other resources such as lodging, training, safe houses, false documentation or identification, communications, equipment or transportation that will be used in whole or in part, to encourage, plan, prepare, carry out, publicize, promote or aid an act of animal or ecological terrorism, the concealment of, or an escape from, an act of animal or ecological terrorism.
The Act would also create a registry of animal and environmental terrorists that would contain the name, photograph and current address of those convicted of both misdemeanor and felony acts of animal rights or environmental extremism. The registry would be made available on the Internet, and information on individuals would remain in the registry a minimum of three years after conviction. After the three year period, the individual could petition the Attorney General for a hearing to request the information be removed.
The full text of the proposed model legislation can be read here.
Source:
ALEC Offers Legislation To Fight Domestic Terror By Animal And Eco-Extremist Groups. American Legislative Exchange Council, September 15, 2003.