The Revolutionary Cells – Animal Liberation Brigade (RCALB), known simply as Animal Liberation Brigade (ALB), is a name used by animal liberationists who advocate the use of a

diversity of tactics Diversity of tactics is a phenomenon wherein a social movement makes periodic use of force for disruptive or defensive purposes, stepping beyond the limits of nonviolent resistance, but also stopping short of total militarization. It also refer ...

within the animal liberation movement, whether non-violent or not. As part of a praxis, the intention is to destroy oppressive institutions, describing an ''endgame'' for

animal abuse Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse, animal neglect or animal cruelty, is the infliction of suffering or harm by humans upon animals, either by omission (neglect) or by commission. More narrowly, it can be the causing of harm or suffe ...

rs.Revolutionary Cells Claims Explosion - Releases communique/guidelines
, '' Bite Back'', 30 September 2003.Daniel San Diego - Fugitive
, '' America's Most Wanted'', 30 August 2008. The Revolutionary Cells is not a group but an example of a leaderless resistance, as a banner for autonomous, covert cells who carry out

direct action Direct action is a term for economic and political behavior in which participants use agency—for example economic or physical power—to achieve their goals. The aim of direct action is to either obstruct a certain practice (such as a governm ...

similar to the Animal Rights Militia (ARM). Founded in the United States, after bombing

Chiron In Greek mythology, Chiron ( ; also Cheiron or Kheiron; ) was held to be the superlative centaur amongst his brethren since he was called the "wisest and justest of all the centaurs". Biography Chiron was notable throughout Greek mythology for ...

and Shaklee's corporate offices in 2003, activists have since used the banner to firebomb vehicles and threaten to send letter bombs to individuals in the California area. Targets have included corporate customers of

animal testing Animal testing, also known as animal experimentation, animal research, and ''in vivo'' testing, is the use of animals, as model organisms, in experiments that seek answers to scientific and medical questions. This approach can be contrasted ...

laboratory Huntingdon Life Sciences and animal researchers at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

and the California National Primate Research Center. The

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

issued an arrest warrant for Daniel Andreas San Diego for his alleged association with the cell responsible for the 2003 bombings.Daniel San Diego - Fugitive
, '' America's Most Wanted'', 30 August 2008.Daniel Andreas San Diego, wanted by the FBI
. Retrieved 17 August 2007.

Philosophy

Guidelines

The Revolutionary Cells guidelines was posted on the '' Bite Back'' website after the second bombing:

Who are RCALB?

The ''Bite Back'' communique also explained who the Revolutionary Cells were and why they exist:

Structure and aims

The group formed the same leaderless-resistance model as the

Animal Liberation Front The Animal Liberation Front (ALF) is a Far-left politics, far-left international, Leaderless resistance, leaderless, decentralized movement that emerged in Britain in the 1970s, evolving from the Bands of Mercy. It operates without a formal lead ...

(ALF), which consists of small, autonomous, covert terror cells acting independently. A cell may consist of just one person. According to the Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism, the Front describes itself as ''"an international coalition fighting injustice"''. The Institute's knowledge Base describes it as an ''"unusually violent animal-rights terrorist movement ... with a penchant for hyperbole and casting about pretensions of power and importance."''Revolutionary Cells Animal Liberation Brigade Group Profile
''MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base'', retrieved, 17 August 2007. Oren Segal, co-director of Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism, believes the group consists of the same few ''"lone wolves"'' that carry out actions in the name of the ALF and

Earth Liberation Front The Earth Liberation Front (ELF), also known as "Elves" or "The Elves", is the collective name for Wiktionary:autonomy, autonomous individuals or covert cells who, according to the ELF Press Office, use "economic sabotage and guerrilla warfare to ...

(ELF), ''"the names are interchangeable ... they're going to rename themselves depending on what actions they're doing."''Range McDonald, Patrick
Monkey madness at UCLA
, ''LA Weekly'', 8 August 2007. The existence of activists calling themselves the Revolutionary Cells or Animal Rights Militia (ARM), another name used to inflict violence, reflects a struggle within the Animal Liberation Front and the animal rights movement in general, between those who believe violence and terror tactics are justified, and those who insist the movement should reject it in favor of non-violent resistance. Lee, Ronnie. , '' No Compromise (magazine)'', issue #23.

Extensional self-defense

Steven Best has coined the term "extensional self-defense" to describe actions carried out in defense of animals by human beings acting as "proxy agents." 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''. 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. He also argues that is not just a theory, but policy in some African countries where governments hire armed soldiers to protect endangered wildlife from

poachers Poaching is the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set against the hunti ...

who wish to sell their body parts in international markets:

"Pacifists cannot stop poachers, but bullets can, and while many measures must be taken to protect endangered species, right now armed soldiers are the best protection rhinos and elephants have against murderous, weapon-wielding poachers."

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.

Actions

Pipe bombs

The RCALB took credit for its first action on 27 August 2003, when two " pipe bombs filled with an

ammonium nitrate Ammonium nitrate is a chemical compound with the formula . It is a white crystalline salt consisting of ions of ammonium and nitrate. It is highly soluble in water and hygroscopic as a solid, but does not form hydrates. It is predominantly us ...

" were placed at Chiron Corporation's offices in

Emeryville, California Emeryville is a city located in northwest Alameda County, California, in the United States. It lies in a corridor between the cities of Berkeley, California, Berkeley and Oakland, California, Oakland, with a border on the shore of San Francisc ...

. Both devices were packed with nails to act as shrapnel. Chiron was targeted because of a contract with Huntingdon Life Sciences, a

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

–based animal testing contractor. A group calling itself ''Revolutionary Cells of the Animal Liberation Brigade'' e-mailed a statement to reporters taking credit for the bombing which was also sent to the '' Bite Back'' website.Chiron Blast Claimed by the Animal Liberation Brigade
''Bite Back'', 29 August 2007 One of the bombs exploded an hour after the first, although no casualties resulted from the second blast, as the second device was discovered and the area cleared before the explosion.

Office bombing

In September 2003, the RCALB took responsibility for another bombing, this time at the offices of Shaklee Inc. in

Pleasanton, California Pleasanton is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. Located in the Amador Valley, it is an upscale suburb in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 79,871 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 cens ...

. Shaklee was targeted because its parent company, Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical, does business with HLS.The Law Enforcement Agency Resource Network
The attackers are said to be linked to Daniel Andreas San Diego, who was featured on ''America's Most Wanted'' and has been placed on the

's most wanted terrorists list. A statement was again released from the group to ''Bite Back'' this time also including their manifesto. It was thought the bomb was this intended to cause harm, as nails flew out ''"at a speed of 100 miles an hour"'', although again no one was harmed.

Incendiary device

On 24 June 2007, an explosive device was placed under a car belonging to Arthur Rosenbaum, a pediatric

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

who carries out animal experimentation with cats and rhesus monkeys at the Jules Stein Eye Institute at UCLA. The device failed to explode because of a faulty fuse, but was still claimed by the Animal Liberation Brigade who called for ''"an end to systematic violence and oppression"''.anonymous communique
, '' Bite Back'', 28 June 2007. UCLA offered a reward for information leading to the arrest of the bomber. Then acting Chancellor, Norman Abrams, said the university "remains steadfast in its commitment to the lawful use of laboratory animals in research for the benefit of society."

Letter bombs

Although no suspicious packages have yet been found, RCALB claimed in January 2009 to '' Indybay''UC Davis Receives Mail Bomb Threat
, '' News10'', 12 January 2009. that they sent two

UC Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...

animal researchers letter bombs because of their work at the California National Primate Research Center. One of the researchers targeted said, ''"It worries me a little bit ... I mean, anytime someone threatens you physically I think it causes worry."'' The Animal Liberation Brigade said in a communique re-released by the Animal Liberation Press Office that the act was not a hoax, with officials at the primate center claiming threats and protests have happened before and were unacceptable.Communiqué from the Revolutionary Cells, Animal Liberation Brigade
, Animal Liberation Press Office, ''10 January 2009''.

Vehicle firebombed

In the early hours of 7 March 2009, the Animal Liberation Brigade once again targeted UCLA. This time setting ablaze and destroying a car belonging to researcher J. David Jentsch. The UCLA Chancellor described the latest attack as "reprehensible", with the University raising the reward for information leading to the arrest of the activists to nearly $500,000.

References

External links

Revolutionary Cells: Communiqué/Guidelines

North American Animal Liberation Press Office

Bite Back Magazine

{{DEFAULTSORT:Revolutionary Cells - Animal Liberation Brigade Animal Liberation Front Eco-terrorism Left-wing militant groups in the United States