Science Hill, UCSC
Digital News Report- Four members of an animals rights group have been arrested in connection with attacks on biomedical researchers with the University of California. Maryam Khajavi, 20, of Pinole, Joseph Buddenberg, 25, of Berkeley, Nathan Pope, 26, of Oceanside and Adriana Stumpo, 23, of Long Beach, have been charged with using force, violence or threats to interfere with the operation of the University of California in violation of the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, which carries a penalty of up to five years in prison.
Pope and Stumpo were arrested in North Carolina after re-entering the U.S. on a trip from Costa Rica. They were then extradited to California. Buddenberg was arrested at an Alameda courthouse on Friday and Khajavi was arrested in Oakland, according to authorities.
Pope, Stumpo, and Khajavi were apparently among a group masked with bandanas who tried to break into a UC Santa Cruz breast cancer researcher’s home back in February of 2008. The woman’s husband was reportedly struck in the head during the incident. DNA found on bandanas in the car used to escape the scene connected the three to the event. There have been two firebombing incidents involving the homes of UC Santa Cruz biomedical researchers and pickets in front of the homes of UC Berkeley biomedical researchers.
“With so many legal options to make their voices heard and to effect policy change, it is inexcusable and cowardly for these people to resort to terrorizing the families of those with whom they do not agree,” said Charlene B. Thornton, special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Francisco office.
Pope and Buddenberg were identified from surveillance video taken in July 2008 at a Santa Cruz Kinko’s, where authorities say a computer was used to download information from UCSC’s Web site about 11 biomedical researchers. They were also caught on video at Caffe Pergolesi, where fliers encouraging violence against the researchers were discovered two days later. The firebombings outside the homes of two of those scientists occurred a week later.
Jerry Vlask, MD, of the Animal Liberation Press Office, stated, “The University of California needs to be held accountable for wasting millions of taxpayer research dollars on useless animal research… It’s ridiculous to portray the four activists arrested on behalf of tortured and abused animals as “terrorists”; the real terrorists are those who maim, imprison and kill innocent non-human animals.”
“This sends a strong message that our community won’t tolerate this type of senseless violence. You have absolutely no right to attack a family in the sanctity of their home. We are proud of the collaboration with our law enforcement partners on this case and look forward to those involved being held fully accountable for their actions,” said Santa Cruz Police Department Chief of Police Howard Skerry.
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