Spotting the Terrorists: How Corporate-Bought Legislation Criminalizes Dissent
When: Thursday, April 18th at 6pm
Where: Seattle University School of Law’s Sullivan Hall, Room C5 (lower level of Sullivan Hall, which is located at 901 12th Ave., Seattle)
In 2004, U.S. Attorney Chris Christie indicted six animal rights activists for violations of an obscure law known as the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act. The accused were, in every instance, only charged for speech activity but an anonymous jury found all six to be guilty. Josh Harper will examine the corporate interests behind this prosecution and what it means for protests movements in the United States. Josh Harper is a former political prisoner, longtime activist, and movement archivist.
At the Bay Area Anarchist Book Fair I spoke with Scott Crow about state repression and surveillance. It was an odd affair. We were in a padded room that is usually used for nude wrestling, I had to have a crew of friends acting as security because of threats against me, and I am pretty sure Scott had a baseball bat hidden somewhere because of threats made against him. That said, I think the speaking date went pretty well! Afterwards I had a delicious vegan milkshake in a non-padded room usually used for clothed eating.
My speech at Burning Books in Buffalo.
Hey folks, just a reminder that I do speaking dates about all sorts of radical stuff, and I am so good at it that it got me sent to prison! (Clearly someone was threatened.) If you’d like to book me to speak on government repression of resistance movements, the history of animal liberation as a revolutionary practice, how a decline in wilderness generally precipitates a decline in human freedom, etc, etc, please get in touch. I’m hoping to do a lot of college dates next year, but also am psyched to speak at radical bookstores and community spaces.
I am honored to be speaking with everyone on this panel, but I have to say I never thought I’d see my name on the same flier as anti-imperialist legend Linda Evans. For those of you in the Bay Area, or those who will be in town for the Anarchist Bookfair, please come out to this event! It isn’t often that such a cross movement panel comes together to talk about our points of unity, I’d love for it to receive a lot of support!
Les intro’ing Josh. Burning Books. #buffalo #wny #animals #animallib
I wanted to thank everyone who came out to see me speak at Burning Books last night, (Except for the racist guy, the men’s rights activist, and the attorney who helped sink the SHAC 7 at trial.) it was wonderful to meet everyone and to see the community that has been built up around that awesome book store. I can’t tell you how nice it was to see anarchists, socialists, animal liberationists, environmentalists, trade unionists and even old school liberal lefties all hanging out and discussing how to cast off this murderous government. The distinct lack of more-radical-than-thou bullshit was refreshing.
You know what else was nice? Seeing Leslie James Pickering above for the first time in more than a decade. We both got active around the same time in 1995, and my first arrest was with him and other members of LibCo. So many people from that era have dropped out, given up, or bought in. LJ is still a radical, and radiates the determination and revolutionary love we’re going to need in the difficult days ahead. All in all, it was a wonderful night.
Hey everyone, I will be speaking at Burning Books in Buffalo in late February. If you know anyone in the area please share this with them.
Hey everyone, this is going down on Thursday! If you are in the area, please drop by. if you have any friends in the Buffalo area I’d appreciate if you shared this with them!
This guy just got off probation! Watching Josh Harper use a can phone in Portland. #joshharper #animalrights #nogods #nomasters (Taken with Instagram)
Aww, thanks guys.
“This was the threat of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty; we saw through all of the social conditioning that tells us that we are too weak to effect change. We went straight to the homes of those in power, challenged them on their golf courses, screamed at them while they vacationed at summer homes. We were the barbarians at the gate, an alliance of the kind of people who did not usually get heard by the mega-rich of the world. Tooth and nail we went after their profits, and along the way refused to divide and fracture over broken windows or graffiti. Everyone was welcome if they would fight, and I smile so big it hurts when I think of the grandmothers, the punks, the students, and all the other unlikely comrades who marched together in defiance of the false hierarchy that tells us to keep separate and leave the rich to their own devices. We didn’t stay in our place. In fact, we recognized that our place was wherever the hell we chose, and the world of finance and animal abuse was rocked as a result.”
Click on the image above to see a selection of SHAC campaign materials, including newsletters and videos.
One of the worst things about being on probation is not being allowed contact with other felons- a major problem since my closest friends have been people of conscience in a world where laws protect the strong and victimize the weak. I miss many people with all of my heart, but right now I want to say a little bit about my friend Jonathan Paul.
Jonathan (Or “JP”, as his friends call him,) became a vegan in the mid 1980s. At that time he was friends with one of the most epic crews of activists in the 20th century. Before long he was sabotaging hunts, raiding labs, and also participating in the necessary but inglorious grind of educational work. Over the years he was involved in some of the movement’s most iconic actions and raids, but that is a story that I will leave for him to tell.
I met Jonathan at a conference in Portland in 1997, and soon was working alongside him and Jake Conroy in the Olympic Peninsula with the Sea Defense Alliance. JP was an early riser who never shirked hard work when an animal’s life was at stake. He lived with rescued, injured animals who required constant attention to their special needs but never complained. He was famous in the movement at that point, but he never had that despicable arrogance that seems to infect so many activists living in the spotlight.
Like many people who love each other deeply, we fought sometimes, and even went years without speaking to each other. Still, I never lost respect for him. A few years ago he began serving time for his part in burning down a horse slaughterhouse in Oregon. One of the things I most looked forward to during my own incarceration was seeing him again, and it’s something I still dream about. Each day brings me closer to reuniting with him and other old friends. Until then, I want to say something to the young generation just now entering the fray: Keep your friends close, love and protect each other, and commit to that beautiful, shared endeavor of progressing your politics through revolutionary action. Remember that your comrades can be taken from you, and you from them, and treat each moment together as all the more special because of it.
