Skip Nav | Home | Mobile | Editorial Guidelines | Mission Statement | About Us | Contact | Help | Security | Support Us

World

FBI tactics - lessons for all!

ALF analysis | 29.03.2010 14:18 | Animal Liberation | World

In March 2009, William “BJ” Viehl and Alex Hall were charged with Animal Enterprise Terrorism for the release of 650 mink from the McMullin Fur Farm in South Jordan, UT; and an attempted raid at Blackridge Farms in Hyrum UT. While their case is well-known, little has been written of the evidence which led to their indictment.

After Viehl’s sentencing, I was allowed to view FBI paperwork in their case, outlining the evidence against them. It offers crucial lessons on FBI investigations, and the errors activists make which can lead to their arrest.

In the paperwork, I learned the investigation into the Utah mink releases involved informants, cell phone records, search warrants, and more.

This article uses the case against Alex Hall and William Viehl as a case study in the anatomy of an Animal Liberation Front indictment: the evidence, and the lessons learned.

The Evidence

#1: Car key left at the scene

The most damning evidence was a car key found in the grass at the McMullin Fur Farm the morning after the raid. The key was later matched to Viehl’s vehicle. Viehl would later say the key had fallen from a shallow pocket while he was releasing mink.

#2: Cell phone records

The second most damning evidence against Viehl – and nearly the only evidence against Hall – is cell phone records placing them (or more accurately, their phones) near the mink farm in South Jordan around the time of the raid. Cell phone company records allegedly recorded the signals unique to each phone “pinging” off nearby towers before, during, and after the time of the mink release.

It should be well known at this point that every cell phone regularly broadcasts a signal which pinpoints the location of a phone. This leaves a nearly permanent record of the times and places of one’s travels (or at least the location of one’s phone). Cell phones also function as roving microphones, which can be turned on remotely and can pick up all conversation within earshot of a phone’s mouthpiece – even when the phone is turned off.

#3: Informants

An informant named “Sarah”, believed to be planted in the Salt Lake City animal rights movement by the FBI, was revealed in the paperwork. She attended animal rights meetings, protests, and the Confronting Cruelty conference in the spring of 2008. Paperwork refers to her only as “CHS (Confidential Human Source)”. However, those familiar with her were able to determine her identity from details in the paperwork. Salt Lake City activists remember her as asking a lot of inappropriate questions, and taking extensive notes at meetings. FBI paperwork shows she provided information on numerous individuals in the local animal rights movement.

I can personally verify the existence of “Sarah”: she befriended me at an animal rights conference under the pretext of seeking help for starting a dog rescue in Guatemala. “Sarah” would later take me on an all-expenses paid weekend trip to Moab, Utah in the fall of 2008.

At least two other individuals consented to interviews with the FBI. The information obtained did not appear to aid the FBI’s case, but that in no way mitigates the seriousness of forfeiting your constitutional rights by talking to law enforcement.

#4: Being ID’d near mink farms

The pair had been stopped by police near Utah two mink farms in the weeks following the McMullin release.

Late one night in October 2008, a mink farmer who had stayed up all night to watch her farm (after two mink releases had occurred in the previous 6 weeks) in Hyrum, UT, followed a car she believed was suspicious. She claims the car pulled over after a short while, and approached her asking why she was following them. The farmer called police. Viehl and Hall were allegedly ID’d as the occupants.

Two weeks before 7,000 mink were released from the Lodder farm in Kaysville, Hall and Viehl were allegedly stopped by police near the farm. The officer alleged there had been burglaries in the area, and believed the two were casing homes. A subsequent search of the vehicle allegedly turned up ski masks and wire cutters.

#5: Warrantless bank record search

Without a warrant, Viehl’s bank turned over bank records showing (again, allegedly) Viehl hired a locksmith to open his vehicle in the days after the McMullin raid. Because a car key fitting Viehl’s vehicle had been found at the scene, this was used by the prosecutor to further indicate guilt.

#6: Vehicle search

The FBI obtained a search warrant to search a vehicle associated with Viehl. The key left at the mink farm was allegedly found to match the vehicle.

Conclusion

In the end, the car key found at the scene and cell phone record placing the phones near the farm the night of the raid provided the most incriminating evidence. The cell phone records are practically the only evidence being used in the (still pending) case against Alex Hall.

While evidence left at a scene and cell phone records cast one under a serious cloud of suspicion, they alone do not conclusively place the defendant at the scene. Evidence such as keys can be planted by the actual culprits to incriminate others, and cell phones being near a crime scene do not prove their owners were. However the supplemental, circumstantial evidence of the pair being ID’d near mink farms may have proven to be the deal-breaker in this case – or at least it provided much less wiggle-room in mounting a defense.

The indictment against William Viehl and Alex Hall is a combination of unfortunate errors and dumb luck on the part of fur farmers and the FBI. The evidence provides insight into the mechanics of FBI investigations, and how activists are apprehended for saving animals.

y future liberators learn from this case, and stay free to fight another night.

-Peter Young

William Viehl plead guilty to the McMullin Fur Farm liberation, and in February was sentenced to two years. At the time of this writing, he is in transit to California, where he will serve his time at a low security prison in Terminal Island. Check back soon for a mailing address.

Alex Hall has plead “not guilty” and is still fighting the charges, with the flimsy cell phone records evidence being the only substantial evidence against him.

Alex Hall Inmate #2009-06304 Davis County Jail 800 West State St. Farmington, UT 84025

ALF analysis
- Homepage: http://news.infoshop.org

Comments

Display the following 12 comments

  1. Incorrect information — correctional
  2. @correctional — Where is your evidence?
  3. Phones — Krop
  4. mobile phones as microphones — anon
  5. computer eavesdropping — mic
  6. 1] Phones : Yes this is true. 2] Informants will usually offer to pay for meals — anon
  7. Mobile phones DO spy on you... heres evidence — tired of mobiles
  8. Mobile phones DO spy on you... heres evidence — Gilroy
  9. Mobile phones DO spy on you... heres evidence — Gilroy
  10. Agree — Mediafire Movies
  11. I liked your content — Beth
  12. absolutely fantastic — cellspydude

Publish

Publish your news

Do you need help with publishing?

/regional publish include --> /regional search include -->

World Topics

Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista

Kollektives

Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World

Other UK IMCs
Bristol/South West
London
Northern Indymedia
Scotland

Server Appeal Radio Page Video Page Indymedia Cinema Offline Newsheet

secure Encrypted Page

You are viewing this page using an encrypted connection. If you bookmark this page or send its address in an email you might want to use the un-encrypted address of this page.

If you recieved a warning about an untrusted root certificate please install the CAcert root certificate, for more information see the security page.

IMCs


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech