The Justice Department (JD) was founded in the
United Kingdom by
animal rights activists who declared they were willing to use a
diversity of tactics up to and including violence against their opponents. Initially calling for ''"
abusers to have but a taste of the fear and anguish their victims suffer on a daily basis"'', activists established a separate idea from adhering to the
Animal Liberation Front's (ALF) guidelines of
non-violent resistance, similar to that of the
Animal Rights Militia (ARM).
The first recorded action took place during Christmas 1993, when
pipe bombs in poster tubes were sent to
Shamrock Farm, a supplier of primates for
animal experimentation. The group had formed the same
leaderless-resistance model as the ALF, which consists of small, autonomous,
covert cells acting independently.
Members of the Justice Department are thought to be both supporters of the far-right and the far-left who engage in a common interest, which is animal rights.
The name has also been used in the
United States with activists claiming hundreds of attacks in the UK against
animal testing companies, their suppliers,
animal researchers,
hunters (including the
Royal Family
A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/ rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term ...
), and even the
British National Party HQ.
By sending
explosive device
An explosive device is a device that relies on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide a violent release of energy.
Applications of explosive devices include:
*Building implosion (demolition)
* Excavation
*Explosive forming
...
s and
razor blades
A razor is a bladed tool primarily used in the removal of body hair through the act of shaving. Kinds of razors include straight razors, safety razors, disposable razors, and electric razors.
While the razor has been in existence since before t ...
in the post, and leaving
incendiary device
Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices, incendiary munitions, or incendiary bombs are weapons designed to start fires or destroy sensitive equipment using fire (and sometimes used as anti-personnel weaponry), that use materials such as napalm, th ...
s on shelves, ''The Independent'' labeled the
political violence
Political violence is violence which is perpetrated in order to achieve political goals. It can include violence which is used by a state against other states (war), violence which is used by a state against civilians and non-state actors (forced ...
''"the most sustained and sophisticated bombing campaign in mainland Britain since the
IRA was at its height."''
with the FBI declaring them to be ''"the most dangerous animal activists in operation".
Philosophy
Manifesto
Structure
The group formed the same
leaderless-resistance model as the ALF, consisting of small, autonomous,
covert cells acting independently. A cell may consist of just one person. The name is used as a tag to claim responsibility for supporters of the Justice Department concept, rather than to denote an actually existing organization. The
animal liberation movement in the 1990s believed there to be less than 30 individuals as part of the Department, operating in separate cells of five or fewer people; living normal lives, normal jobs and an uncommon stereotype of a squatter.
In ''
The Independent'' newspaper it was claimed that the Justice Department is regarded as the "terrorist wing" of the
Animal Liberation Front (ALF). Some ALF activists reject the association, telling the newspaper: ''"You cannot be in favour of animal rights and at the same time attack people because at the end of the day people are animals, too."''
By 1995, security forces grew concerned over not just the scale of the campaign, but also the sophistication of activists. The technology used in the bomb making was compared to that of the IRA, with hoax bombs designed to frighten the public rather than harm, although sometimes capable of maiming or killing. At the time Deputy Assistant Commissioner John Howley, overall head of both the
Special Branch
Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security and Intelligence (information gathering), intelligence in Policing in the United Kingdom, British, Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, ...
and the anti-terrorist branch, claimed it was not terrorism because there was no clear motive to overthrow the government.
Philosophy
The existence of activists calling themselves the Justice Department or
Animal Rights Militia (ARM), another name used by violent activists, reflects a struggle within the radical
animal rights movement
The animal rights (AR) movement, sometimes called the animal liberation, animal personhood, or animal advocacy movement, is a social movement that seeks an end to the rigid moral and legal distinction drawn between human and non-human animals, ...
in general, between those who believe violence is justified, and those who insist the movement should reject it in favour of
nonviolent resistance
Nonviolent resistance (NVR), or nonviolent action, sometimes called civil resistance, is the practice of achieving goals such as social change through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political noncooperation, satyagraha, cons ...
.
[ Lee, Ronnie]
Controversial Actions
, '' No Compromise'', issue #23. Furthermore criticism from the mainstream animal rights movement includes comparing animal rights and the struggles to
abolish slavery and
emancipate women, which the
League Against Cruel Sports
The League Against Cruel Sports, formerly known as the League for the Prohibition of Cruel Sports, is a UK-based animal welfare charity which campaigns to stop blood sports such as fox hunting, hare and deer hunting; game bird shooting; and anim ...
thinks is ''"stupid and naive"''.
While the ALF is a non-violent group,
Robin Webb has noted that some people may simultaneously be involved in actions staged by the Justice Department, the ALF and the ARM, since:
[
]
Extensional self-defense
Steven Best
Steven Best (born December 1955) is an American philosopher, writer, speaker and activist. His concerns include animal rights, species extinction, human overpopulation, ecological crisis, biotechnology, liberation politics, terrorism, mass media ...
has coined the term "extensional self-defense" to describe actions carried out in defense of animals by human beings acting as "proxy agents."
[ Best, Steven]
"Gaps in Logic, Lapses in Politics: Rights and Abolitionism in Joan Dunayer's Speciesism"
''drstevebest.org''. He argues that, in carrying out acts of extensional self-defense, activists have the moral right to engage in acts of sabotage or even violence.
Extensional self-defense is justified, he writes, because animals are "so vulnerable and oppressed they cannot fight back to attack or kill their oppressors."
[ Best, Steven]
"Who's Afraid of Jerry Vlasak?"
, ''Animal Liberation Press Office
Animal Liberation Press Offices relay anonymous communiques, photos, and videos to the media about direct action undertaken by the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), Animal Rights Militia (ARM), Revolutionary Cells – Animal Liberation Brigade, Jus ...
''. Best argues that the principle of extensional self-defense mirrors the penal code statues known as the "
necessity defense," which can be invoked when a defendant believes that the illegal act was necessary to avoid imminent and great harm.
Best says that "extensional self defense" has been put into practice in some African countries, where hired armed soldiers occasionally use lethal force against
poachers who would kill rhinos, elephants and other endangered animals. In testimony to the Senate in 2005,
Jerry Vlasak stated that he regarded violence against Huntingdon Life Sciences as an example of extensional self-defense.
Direct action
1993
The first recorded Justice Department action took place during
Christmas 1993, when two-foot-long poster tubes with explosive devices were sent to
Shamrock Farm, a supplier of primates for animal research; the action carried claims of HIV-infected needles. Eleven more devices were intercepted by
Special Branch
Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security and Intelligence (information gathering), intelligence in Policing in the United Kingdom, British, Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, ...
at sorting offices with one that was not recovered. It targeted the manager of
GlaxoSmithKline
GSK plc, formerly GlaxoSmithKline plc, is a British multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with global headquarters in London, England. Established in 2000 by a merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. GSK is the ten ...
in
Hereford
Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...
, who was also a member of the
RSPCA's animal experimentation advisory board and Institute of Animal Technicians council. He opened the package which exploded in his face. Days later the group targeted
Boots in
Cornwall, publicly stating that they had replaced products on their shelves with devices. Boots issued an alert to their eleven hundred stores after one customer bought one of the products and contacted the police who deactivated the device.
1994
Activists working as the Justice Department have sent out letter bombs and envelopes rigged with
poison
Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...
ed razor blades.
In 1994, a rat trap equipped with razor blades was sent to
Prince Charles
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...
after he took his sons on their first
foxhunt
Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of ho ...
. Tom King, a former
Defence Secretary, was sent an incendiary device, which failed to explode, after he defended foxhunting during a debate in parliament.
Michael Howard
Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne (born Michael Hecht; 7 July 1941) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005. He previously held cabinet posi ...
, at the time Home Secretary, also received one.
Shortly after, the group set fire to two boats belonging to the owner of Garetmar kennels (formally known as Cottagepatch) in
Hampshire and sent two videos disguised incendiary devices to the
Boots store in
Cambridge, which was intercepted, and another to the
British National Party (BNP) HQ in
South London
South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...
; injuring Alfred Waite.
Another round of devices by the now quite violent group were claimed to be ''increasingly sophisticated and random'' yet again injured staff, this time of ferry company Stena Sealink, which were attacked in
Gloucestershire,
Oxford,
Edinburgh and
Kent, in connection with the live exports trade. This resulted in ferry companies involved in live exports pulling out because of fear for their staff and their safety.
Bloodsports enthusiast and hunt master Nick Fawcett was also one of the main targets of the Justice Department receiving several JD packages, with police blowing two up outside his home.
1995
The Justice Department in April were then accused of sending four letter bombs from London to senior politicians
William Waldegrave (the then
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food) and again to
Tom King (a former
Defence Secretary), a
fur warehouse in Glasgow and an animal testing company in Edinburgh. Mr Waldegrave was targeted at his family farm in
Chewton Mendip
Chewton Mendip is a village and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. It is situated north of Wells, south of Bath and Bristol on the A39 very close to the A37. The village is in a valley on the Mendip Hills and is the ...
,
Somerset, but the device was spotted by a postman and dismantled by a bomb disposal team. This was due to his apparent lack of action on banning the
live exports
Live export is the commercial transport of livestock across national borders. The trade involves a number of countries with the Australian live export industry being one of the largest exporters in the global trade. According to the Australia ...
trade and
veal crates, with booby-trapped razor blades sent to his home in January, threatening letters and protests from animal rights activists. The campaign was condemned by
Compassion in World Farming, while Mr Waldegrave dismissing the actions as "stupidity". The other bombs were intercepted at
Westminster, a postroom and at the fur company in a controlled explosion.
[Penman, Danny. Moyes, JoJo]
Ministers are targeted by letter bombs
'' Independent'', April 65th 1995.
1996
In January, the group claimed responsibility for sending envelopes with blades soaked in
rat poison to 80 researchers, hunting guides, and others in the United States, and in
British Columbia and
Alberta, Canada.
David Barbarash
The Animal Liberation Front (ALF) is an international, Leaderless resistance, leaderless, decentralized political and social resistance movement that engages in and promotes non-violent direct action in protest against incidents of animal cruelt ...
, a
Vancouver-based activist who became North American spokesman for the Animal Liberation Front, was charged in connection with the attacks, but the case against him was dropped.
Threats pursued in March, after the Department claimed sending out another 87 booby-trapped envelopes.
the letter said: ''"It is unfortunate such drastic actions must be taken but in war, people die," "And we haven't even started yet."''.
1999
In August after a few years of inactivity, a US-based group sent razor blades and a picture of a bomb from
New York City to
Knox County Mink Farm,
Ohio. Previously targeted by the ALF in 1996 when they released 8,000 from the premises, they warned the farm that they had a year to ''"get out of the bloody fur trade"'' and release all their mink, signed by the ''Justice Department Anti-Fur Task Force''.
[Leigh, Norman]
Farmers get razor blade threat
''The Vindictor'', 16 August 1999.
By October the group had prepared 83 envelopes containing razor blades and a strongly worded warning, sent from
Las Vegas, urging
primate researchers in
Oregon to end their work by Autumn 2000. They were warned; ''"If you do not heed our warning, your violence will be turned back on you."'' by the activists. No injuries were reported from the attacks, but the FBI swiftly classified them as the most dangerous animal activists in operation. The packages were received by researchers from
UCSF,
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
,
University of Washington,
Tulane University and elsewhere. A special agent labelled the activity
animal enterprise terrorism.
[Mehren, Elizabeth]
Scientists receive letters with razor blades, warnings
''The Daily Gazette'', 28 October 1999.
2010
A new round of threats was investigated by the FBI in November after ''The Justice Department of UCLA'' claimed they sent HIV-infected razors to
UCLA neuroscientist,
animal researcher and
Speaking of Research
Speaking of Research (SR) is an international group which "aims to provide accurate information about the importance of animal research in medical and veterinary science". It was founded in March 2008 by Tom Holder, an "energetic young British ac ...
member David Jentsch. He received razor blades and a threatening note law enforcement claim. The
North American Animal Liberation Press Office
Animal Liberation Press Offices relay anonymous communiques, photos, and videos to the media about direct action undertaken by the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), Animal Rights Militia (ARM), Revolutionary Cells – Animal Liberation Brigade, Ju ...
posted an anonymous
communiqué
A press release is an official statement delivered to members of the news media for the purpose of providing information, creating an official statement, or making an announcement directed for public release. Press releases are also considere ...
from the group, who claimed they carried out the action because Jentsch uses primates for government-funded testing of drug addiction.
Since 2006, activists have claimed numerous acts of
sabotage, vandalism, criminal damage and firebombing against UCLA faculty or property, on and off campus, including the
Animal Liberation Brigade setting fire to his car in March 2009. According to the university, Jentsch studies
methamphetamine
Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamph ...
addiction, tobacco dependence in teenagers, and the
cognitive disabilities affecting
schizophrenia patients, with much of his work funded by the
National Institutes of Health.
[Martinez, Michael]
AIDS-tainted razors to animal researcher
'' CNN'', 24 November 2010.
Video bomber sentenced
Relating to the video disguised devices that were sent to Stena Sealink, a
Coventry man, Guerjeet Aujla, was arrested by the
Anti Terrorist Squad and was classified as a Category A prisoner and Justice Department bomber after clues were found in his bedroom linking him to the devices. In the case, the judge believed that he was not responsible for the other attacks, only those to the ferry company, and that his guilty plea showed genuine remorse. He was sentenced to six years imprisonment, the lowest possible sentence the judge was able to pass concerning the attacks that caused harm to individuals.
See also
*
Leaderless resistance
Leaderless resistance, or phantom cell structure, is a Rebellion, social resistance strategy in which small, independent groups (Clandestine cell system, covert cells), or individuals (a solo cell is called a "Lone wolf (terrorism), lone wolf"), ch ...
*
Animal rights
*
Animal Liberation Front (ALF)
*
Animal Rights Militia (ARM)
*
Green Scare
*
Revolutionary Cells – Animal Liberation Brigade (RCALB)
References
Further reading
FBI testimony on the ALF James F. Jarboe before the House Resources Committee, Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health, 12 February 2002.
* (covers actions of the Justice Department)
{{Animal rights
Animal rights movement
Animal testing
Animal Liberation Front
Eco-terrorism