Animal rights activist released February 1st 2007 after serving a 2 year prison term for releasing and conspiracy to release 8,000 mink.
Where's Peter?
Peter has been released and is living in Northern California.
If you would like to contact Peter send him an email:
[email protected]
Or for a short time send him a Myspace message directly at this account.
** expect that all emails are read by the authorities. **
Take a minute to wish him congratulations. He hopes to maintain correspondence with all his prison pen-pals so stay in touch!
www. S u p p o r t P e t e r .com
October, 1997: A 2 week wave of mink releases sweeps the Midwest. In 12 days, 5 mink farms are visited and the animals released. Police reports state each raid followed the same model: fences were cut, breeding records destroyed, and cages opened. At the end of the 2 weeks, between 8,000 and 12,000 mink are released into their native habitat.
October 28, 1997: In Sheboygan County, Wisconsin deputies pull over Peter Young and Justin Samuel in response to a call from fur farmers who suspected they were watching their mink sheds.
September 1998: A Federal Grand Jury indicted the duo on charges of animal enterprise terrorism and unlawful interference with interstate commerce. Both Samuel and Young were nowhere to be found.
September 4, 1999: Justin Samuel was arrested in Belgium and eventually extradited to the U.S. to face criminal charges.
August 30, 2000: Despite an enormous outpouring of support from the activist community Justin Samuel entered into a plea agreement with federal prosecutors in exchange for a lighter sentence.
Justin Samuel implicated Peter Young (his co-defendant) and Justin Samuel promised to "make a full, complete, truthful statement regarding his involvement in violations of federal criminal statutes charged in the original Indictment, as well as the involvement of all other individuals known to him regarding the crimes charged in that Indictment. And the defendant agrees to testify fully and truthfully at any trials or hearings."
August 31, 2000: Justin Samuel's Offical Grand Jury Trancripts.
Read now for the first time all 85 pages of Justin's betrayl. Feel free to re-post.
March 31, 2005: Peter Young was arrested after 7 years of being wanted by the FBI.
Peter faced 82 years of prison under the Animal Enterprise Protection Act and the Hobbs Act.
May 10, 2005: Peter was extradited from San Jose CA to Wisconsin to face trial in federal court.
June, 2005 If found guilty, federal sentencing guidelines called for a sentence of 10 to 12 years with possible enhancements. Prosecutors offered two plea deals for a reduced sentence of 2 to 3 years in exchange for returning to the animal rights movement as an infiltrator, or giving investigators the names of those he had known during his 7 years on the FBI wanted list. These were of course rejected.
July, 2005: After a motion was filed by his attorney challenging the felony portions of his indictment, the 4 felony charges against him were dropped.
August, 2005: After rejecting a third offer to cooperate with authorities in exchange for a 1 year sentence, Peter entered into a plea agreement to plead guilty to the remaining AET charges and serve two years.
November 8, 2005: Peter Young entered the Madsion County courtroom for sentencing and he was greeted with a roar of cheers and applause. Over 50 people from across the country had converged to show their support! The courtroom was so packed supporters sat on one anothers laps just to have a seat.
Peter recieved a sentence of:
Two years in federal prison, with the final two months to be served in a halfway house with work release privileges; 360 hours of community service at a charity to benefit "humans and no other species", $254,000 restitution, and one year probation.
December 22, 2005: After a defiant speech to the court at Peter's sentencing, Codington County, South Dakota files new charges against Peter for an 8 year old mink release at the Turbak Mink Ranch. He was expected to stand trial during Summer 2006.
January 26, 2007: Just 6 days before his release from federal custody, South Dakota authorities announce they will be dismissing the year old charges against him. The terms of the deferred prosecution are full compliance with the terms of his federal plea agreement, and not returning to South Dakota for any reason.
Febuary 1st, 2007: PETER YOUNG RELEASED!!!!
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This is just a friendly reminder that it is your right to not speak to the FBI (see Fifth amendment). Know your rights and know that giving information to the FBI could harm whomever is in question as well as yourself, no matter how useless what you say seems. If you are contacted by police or FBI agents immediatly tell someone. Learn more about your rights in dealing with the FBI and other law enforcement:
* The National Lawyers Guild offers a helpful guide "Know Your Rights"
* The Center for Constitutional Rights also offers a useful guide on dealing with the FBI. "If an Agent Knocks"
