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Back in 2006, former President Bush signed a bill into law called the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA). The bill is intended for animal rights and environmental activists, who engage in acts of “force, violence, and threats involving animal enterprises”. It essentially allows for animal rights activists to be classified as “domestic terrorists”. Due to the way it was written, many law makers did not back this bill, claiming it was written in a way that violated animal activists constitutional right to free speech. Nonetheless, it got enough votes to pass. I suppose it didn’t help our cause that, during one of the congressional hearings regarding the actions of animal rights extremists, physician and animal rights activist, Dr. Jerry Vlasak, testified that he stood by public statements he made previously advocating the death of researchers in order to save animals. Now the animal community is buzzing about last weeks arrests of Nathan Pope, Adriana Stumpo, Joseph Buddenberg, and Maryam Khajavi, four animal rights activists, by the FBI under the AETA. While the details of the charges are slow to come, so far it looks like the arrests were for actions including: Protesting outside the home of a UC professor, chalking defamatory comments on public sidewalks, wearing bandanas to hide their faces, and distributing leaflets with contact information for several researchers. Again - these are the details as we know them now. I can only comment on the details as such, and my opinions may change as more emerges. Do I believe that most animal advocacy actions that are actionable under the AETA are worthy of being labeled “terrorism”? No, and I think that as we make such sweeping generalizations, under the law no less, that the word ”terrorist” is slowly going to be the everyday vernacular used liberally and in a manner that is going to hurt more than it helps. I will, however, say this: stories report that the suspects protest at a university professors home was during a child’s birthday party, and included rattling the front door. I am guessing that, to the children, masked strangers shouting and rattling the front door was no less than terrifying. And their message was, I am sure, lost on the adults at the party who were concerned for their children. So while I would like to stand behind Nathan Pope, Adriana Stumpo, Joseph Buddenberg, and Maryam Khajavi, for being a voice for the animals, I cannot. Going to personal residences, wearing masks, rattling doors, and scaring children? Come on guys…that was below the belt.