{"id":2934,"date":"2014-10-15T09:59:33","date_gmt":"2014-10-15T17:59:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/animalliberationpressoffice.org\/NAALPO\/?p=2934"},"modified":"2014-10-29T10:03:51","modified_gmt":"2014-10-29T18:03:51","slug":"animal-rights-protester-a-risk-to-the-safety-of-the-community-judge-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/animalliberationpressoffice.org\/NAALPO\/2014\/10\/15\/animal-rights-protester-a-risk-to-the-safety-of-the-community-judge-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Animal rights protester a \u201crisk to the safety of the community,\u201d judge says"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"kevinjohnson\"<\/a>Chicago Sun Times<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Kim Janssen<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
An animal rights protester who allegedly freed 2,000 mink from an Illinois fur farm presents a \u201crisk to the safety of the community\u201d and should be locked up until he stands trial, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

Kevin Johnson, 27 allegedly teamed up with codefendant, Tyler Lang, 25, to release\u00a0the animals from a mink farm in Morris, 65 miles southwest of Chicago, last August, then daubed the walls of a barn with the words \u201cLiberation is Love.\u201d<\/p>\n

A\u00a0one-year sentence he\u2019s serving in state prison for possessing burglary tools will be completed on Oct. 22.<\/p>\n

But U.S. District Judge Milton Shadur said Wednesday morning that Johnson\u2019s eight-year history of committing crimes while protesting animal rights suggests there is\u00a0a serious risk he\u2019d reoffend if released.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing that is disturbing is the evidence of spontaneous rage,\u201d Shadur said, referring to incidents during animal rights protests in which Johnson threatened the families of executives outside their homes.<\/p>\n

He noted that Johnson was carrying books with bomb-making instructions when he was arrested near the Morris mink farm last year, describing the reading material as \u201cnot exactly a Tom Clancy novel.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is the point in having it unless it mirrors someone\u2019s intentions?\u201d the judge added.<\/p>\n

Defense attorney Michael Deutsch had asked for Johnson to be allowed to live under house arrest with his mother in California, arguing that Johnson is suffering mental health problems in jail and is no longer the \u201cfervent\u201d activist he had been as a younger man.<\/p>\n

But prosecutor Bethany Biesenthal said Johnson\u2019s \u201cincredibly disturbing\u201d criminal history showed that his crimes were escalating.<\/p>\n

The gaunt Johnson did not speak during the hearing but waved his hands in denial when Biesenthal alleged he\u2019d once spat at an executive\u2019s wife during a protest in Portland, Oregon.<\/p>\n

He and Lang \u2014 who is free on bond \u2014 face five years behind bars if convicted of the raid on the Morris fur farm.<\/p>\n

Around 400 of the animals were either killed by traffic or were not recovered, the feds say.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chicago Sun Times Kim Janssen An animal rights protester who allegedly freed 2,000 mink from an Illinois fur farm presents a \u201crisk to the safety of the community\u201d and should be locked up until he stands trial, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. Kevin Johnson, 27 allegedly teamed up with codefendant, Tyler Lang, 25, to release\u00a0the … <\/p>\n

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