ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVISTS FACE TRIAL FOR VANDALIZING FURS NATIONWIDE, INCLUDING SAN DIEGO AND EAST COUNTY

July 26, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)—Two animal rights activists have been apprehended in Oakland and will face trial in San Diego for vandalizing furs across the nation, including locations in San Diego and East County. They face charges under the Conspiracy to Violate the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act.

The U.S. Attorney’s office in San Diego announced Friday that Joseph Buddenberg, 31, and Nicole Kissane, 28 are charged with terrorizing the fur industry during cross-country road trips in which they released thousands of minks from farms, destroyed breeding records, freed a bobcat from a Montana farm and vandalized numerous properties including in California.

Prosecutors allege the two drove to San Diego two years ago and used paint, paint stripper, a super glue-type substance, butyric acid, muriatic acid and glass etchant to vandalize Furs by Graf, a retail furrier located in San Diego.

The activists also allegedly damaged the Spring Valley and La Mesa homes and personal property of current and former owners of the fur business, according to the indictment.

To publicize their actions, the defendants drafted “communiques” describing their conduct and posted them on websites associated with more extreme animal rights organizations, the indictment alleges.

The defendants allegedly slashed the tires of a meat distributor’s truck in San Francisco; smashed windows and glued the door locks at a furrier business in Minneapolis; and vandalized and attempted to flood the Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, home of an employee of North American Fur Auctions.

“Whatever your feelings about the fur industry, there are legal ways to make your opinions known,” said U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy. “The conduct alleged here, sneaking around at night, stealing property and vandalizing homes and businesses with acid, glue and chemicals, is a form of domestic terrorism and can’t be permitted to continue.”

The defendants took a number of steps to avoid detection by law enforcement, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

According to prosecutors, the pair withdrew large sums of cash from their bank accounts immediately before setting off on a road trip, largely avoided the use of phones, and used only cash for purchases. They also stopped logging in to known online accounts and email, using public Internet computers and encrypted email instead, prosecutors said. The pair also sold allegedly sold items on e-bay to finance their travels.

The indictments  are “the result of several FBI Joint Terrorism Task Forces around the country,” said Eric Birnbaum, special agent in charge of the FBI’’s San Diego Field Office.  He adds, “The FBI and our JTTF partners will continue to investigate and seek the prosecution of those who engage in similar criminal conducdt for the purpose of advancing their own personal agenda.”