Tag: Robin Webb

Robin Webb Rejects Proposed Plea Agreement

Robin Webb, British Animal Liberation Front spokesman, has rejected an offer from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office that would have sent him home to the United Kingdom in exchange for pleading guilty to fourth degree criminal contempt for his actions at a Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty-organized protest of Huntingdon Life Sciences.

Webb was arrested after violating a court order that permits only 50 protestors at a time to congregate near the gate at HLS’ facility in New Jersey.

The plea agreement would have required Webb to pay a $1,000 fine but would not have included jail time. Webb told the New Jersey Courier News that he turned down the plea offer because he didn’t think he was charged with a violent crime. Also, if he pleads guilty or is convicted, Webb will not be able to legally return to the United States again.

Webb told the Courier News,

My only way of returning home, even for a few days over the Christmas period to be with my family, is to plead guilty to something I haven’t done, to something that is classified as a crime. And I have no intention of being blackmailed into pleading guilty to a crime merely to go home for Christmas to be with my family. That clearly shows the inhumane face of the American judicial system.

After he turned down the plea bargain, a grand jury indicted Webb on fourth degree criminal contempt.

A spokeswoman for the Franklin Township Police Department told the Courier News that it had videotapes of the protest showing Webb violating the court order,

We had a number of officers doing physical counts. . . .Mr. Webb did not just walk down the street to get to this area. He went above and beyond to enter the protest area, hence going over the allotted number, which they were all made aware of.

No word yet on when Webb will go on trial.

Source:

“Protester rejects deal to send him home. Crissa Shoemaker, Courier News (New Jersey), December 21, 2002.

Center for Consumer Freedom on SHAC

The Center for Consumer Freedom published an excellent report this month on Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty’s recent protests against Huntingdon Life Sciences designed to coincide with the company’s 50th year in business (though, the activists got it wrong and it was, in fact, Huntingdon’s 51st anniversary).

The report included the following “unedited quotes, taken directly from videotapes of the recent SHAC protests,”

“Animal liberation is not a campaign. It is not a struggle. It is a war! It is an all-out bloody war!”
-Robin Webb

“As long as we emptied the labs of animals, they are still easily replaced. So that’s when the ALF in this country, and my cell, started engaging in arson.”
-Rodney Coronado

“We’re a new breed of activism. We’re not your parents’ Humane Society. We’re not Friends of Animals. We’re not Earthsave. We’re not Greenpeace. We come with a new philosophy. We hold the radical line. We will not compromise! We will not apologize, and we will not relent! Vivisection is not an abstract concept. It’s a deed, done by individuals, who have weaknesses, who have breaking points, and who have home addresses!”
-Kevin Jonas

“We’ll sweep the police aside. We’ll sweep the government aside. We’ll sweep Huntingdon Life Sciences aside, and we’ll raze this evil place right to the ground.”
-Robin Webb

Source:

Special Report: The New ‘Nonviolence’. The Center for Consumer Freedom, December 5, 2002.

SHAC Protest Fizzles

For the past several months, Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty sent out press releases and posts on e-mail lists calling for a massive demonstration at a Huntingdon Life Sciences facility in New Jersey. The protest was supposed to mark the 50th anniversary of HLS’s operations (SHAC couldn’t even get that right — this is actually the company’s 51st year in business).

But like SHAC’s campaign against HLS in the United States, the protest fizzled with only 200-300 activists showing up to join Kevin Jonas and company in protesting SHAC.

Robin Webb, a British spokesperson for the Animal Liberation Front, was the only person arrested. He was charged with trespassing after violating a court order that allows only 50 people to mass in front of HLS’ front gate at any given moment. But not before Webb voiced his opinion of HLS researchers, shouting that, “They’re evil! They don’t belong on this planet.”

Kevin Jonas tried to spin the poor turnout by decrying the large number of police on-hand — 65 of local police plus county and state cops. Jonas told The Star-Ledger (New Jersey),

Overkill is an understatement. We’ve got grannies here from different parts of the country. They’ve got guns.

What Jonas didn’t have was much of a turnout.

Sources:

No violence as animal activists mark an ‘unhappy’ 50th birthday. Jeff Diamant, The Star-Ledger (New Jersey), Monday, December 02, 2002.

Animal rights group holds Doylestown protest. Hilary Bentman, Philadelphia Intelligencer, December 3, 2002.

Hundreds protest lab testing on animals. News12, December 1, 2002.

Animal-testing rally held outside labs. Jeff Linkous, Associated Press, December 2, 2002.

Animal Rights Activists Predict More Violent Actions in the Wake of Barry Horne's Death

Reaction to Barry Horne’s death from animal rights activists was swift and predictable — Horne was a hero and his death will likely inspire more violent actions against people in animal industries.

Ronnie Lee, founder of the Animal Liberation Front, said, “I think there are some people who would regard him as a martyr. Everyone in the animal rights movement feels a combination of sadness and anger over his death. That includes people whose thing is to carry out personal actions on animal rights abusers.”

Andrew Tyler, director of Animal Aid, said he did not condone arson but called Horne a “thoroughly dedicated anti-vivisectionist.”

Robin Webb, current ALF spokesman, said, “Barry has given his life. It will harden people’s resolve. … I can’t predict what will happen but people are becoming angry and I belive this will make them angrier. Some people are becoming more radical still.”

Scriptwriter and animal rights activist Carla Lane said, “I don’t believe in violence, arson, or anything like that, but I believe in why Barry did what he did. I hope he will make others think more deeply about it, because if someone is prepared to give their life they must have seen something that was deeply, deeply upsetting to them.”

And Kevin Jonas of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty, weighed in to predict that violent actions would escalate. “He was a household name for animal rights activists around the world,” Jonas said. “I can only predict that his death is going to spark a reaction.”

Companies and police in Great Britain are reportedly already preparing for an increase in animal rights related terrorism following Horne’s death. During his last hunger strike, the Animal Rights Militia issued a list of 10 people it claimed it would kill if Horne died. Given the outpouring of love for such a violent individual, don’t expect the activists to pull their punches.

Sources:

Police alert after animal rights bomber dies on hunger strike. Richard Ford, The Times (London), November 6, 2001.

Animal rights activist dies after hunger strike. Ian Burrell, The Independent (London), November 6, 2001.

Interview. The Guardian (London), November 6, 2001.

Animal activists mourn their martyr dies in hunger strike: Firebomber dies after fourth hunger strike bid to change vivisection policy. Sarah Hall, The Guardian (London), November 6, 2001.

Companies on alert after death of activist: Animal rights group wars of violence. Jimmy Burns and David Firn, The Financial Times (London), November 6, 2001.

Firebomber dies on hunger strike. Philip Johnston, The Daily Telegraph (London), November 6, 2001.

Hunt Ban Opponents Targeted for Violence

Two opponents of the ban on fox Hunting in the United Kingdom were warned by police that their names appeared on a hit list prepared by extremist animal rights groups. Labour Member of Parliament Llin Golding and Sports Minister Kate Hoey were advised by police to take extra security precautions after the list came to light. Given recent animal rights violence, including an assault on an animal lab manager and a wave of letter bombs, police are taking the threat very seriously.

Hoey is an outspoken defender of fox hunting, while Golding supported a compromise proposal that would have heavily regulated fox hunting rather than banning it outright. They were the only Labour Members of Parliament to vote against the bill banning fox hunting.

Golding lashed out at extremists in the animal rights movement saying,

These people do not frighten me, they just make me sick and nothing they do will stop me from speaking up for what I think is wright. They have already sent me a coffin containing a huntsman, and tombstone. They are bullies and they are evil. It is important that people do not give in to them.

Robin Webb, spokesman for the UK Animal Liberation Front, was relatively candid in an interview with the Daily Telegraph about his group’s indifference to human life and the ALF’s connection to violent attacks in the UK.

Asked whether or not the ALF condemned the threats, Webb said,

This is something the ALF will neither condone or condemn. We fully understand the anger and frustration which leads people to take this type of action. The Labour Party has failed to keep all those pledges it made to animal rights campaigners in the run-up to the last election.

Many people feel they have been conned and let down by New Labour. The whole movement has taken a step towards radicalism. The argument has been used, quite justifiably in my opinion, that if the animals could fight for themselves there would be a lot of dead animal abusers.

Webb said that the hit list was probably put together by members of the Animal Rights Militia and the Justice Department, both of which have been responsible for numerous acts of violence, including letter bomb attacks, in the UK and other countries. Webb also confirmed what anyone who has followed the ALF for very long could also deduce — ALF members are behind the Animal Rights Militia and Justice Department. Webb said,

People who are ALF members do work for other organistions. The ALF cannot be held responsible for actions they carry out as [a] result of membership of another organisation.

In other words, the ALF is just a label. If nobody gets hurt in an action, the activists say it was done in the name of the ALF. If it involves potentially maiming or killing someone, they simply pick another name out of the hat such as the Animal Rights Militia, but the same core group of activists is likely behind both types of actions.

Sources:

Animal rights activists target MPs. The BBC, March 10, 2001.

Bomb threat to pro-hunt women MPs. Joe Murphy and Chris Hastings, The Daily Telegraph (London) March 11, 2001.

ALF Founder — Victim of Violent Attack Got What He Deserved

Ronnie Lee, who founded the Animal Liberation Front but claims he is no longer associated with the group, this week sang the praises of the unidentified attackers who attacked Huntingdon Life Sciences
managing director Brian Cass with baseball bats last week. The Daily Telegraph reports that Lee had this to say about the violent assault on Cass,

This serves Brian Cass right and is totally justifiable. In fact he has got off lightly. I have no sympathy for him. I do not condemn this act. I condemn what Brian Cass does to animals. In fact, I would say I condone this. What surprises me is that this doesn’t happen more often

Robin Webb, a UK spokesman for the ALF, wouldn’t condone the act but did say he “understood” what motivated those who carried it out,

The Animal Liberation Front has always had a policy of not harming life, but while it would not condone what took place, it understands the anger and frustration that leads people to take this kind of action. Groups like the Animal Rights Militia and the Justice Department have said they are prepared to take this sort of action in the short-term for the long-term gain.

Whereas terrorism through arson and other acts of violence don’t phase Webb one bit.

Source:

Victim got what he deserved, says animal group’s founder. Richard Alleyne, The Daily Telegraph (UK), February 24, 2001.