| Winter 1996/97 Poultry Press |
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CA Activists Charged with Felony at Poultry Slaughter Plant "We blockaded for almost four hours." Hope Purplehorse, SPAR |
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On Wednesday, December 18th, eight Sonoma People for Animal
Rights (SPAR) were arrested and jailed for 3 days in Sonoma
County Jail in Santa Rosa, California on felony conspiracy and
misdemeanor trespassing charges for blocking entrances to the
Fulton Poultry Processing Plant by perching atop a 14-foot tripod
and chaining themselves to 700-lb. barrels. The jailed activists
declared a hunger strike. Several dozen supporters slept on the
front steps of the jail Wednesday night to await arraignment of
the prisoners, whose bail was set at $1,000 each. "The felony
charge is absurd," said Crescenzo Vellucci, executive director of
the Activist Civil Liberties Committee (ACLC), based in
Sacramento. "The only conspiracy is that of those who wish to
limit our right to free speech and assembly. Activists went to
the slaughterhouse to protest the inhumane conditions and
horrible killing methods there."
The conspiracy felony charge was subsequently dropped down to misdemeanor trespassing. For more information, contact Cres Vellucci, ACLC, P.O. Box 19515, Sacramento, CA 95819 (ph: 916- 452-7179); Larry Weiss, ACLC attorney (ph: 707-576-1415); Hope Purplehorse, SPAR (ph: 707-874-2996). |
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