MADISON, Wsi. — Federal prosecutors are hoping to garnish the wages of a prominent animal rights activist who freed mink from Midwestern fur farms and earns money giving speeches about the case.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen Crocker in Madison on Monday granted a prosecutor's application to garnish 25 percent of any wages Peter Daniel Young earns through Evil Twin Booking Agency. The Philadelphia firm books Young to give speeches about his case and animal rights issues.
Prosecutors say Young, who was released from prison in 2007, still owes $253,500 to the mink farmers he victimized. That's only $1,300 less than he was ordered to repay them in November 2005.
Young and an accomplice broke onto mink farms in Wisconsin, South Dakota and Iowa in 1997, cutting fences and freeing thousands of animals from their cages. After years of running from the FBI, Young was arrested for shoplifting in California.
He was convicted of two counts of animal enterprise terrorism in 2005 and sentenced to two years in prison. Unapologetic at his sentencing, Young told fur farmers "it was an absolute pleasure to raid your farms" and urged his supporters to stage additional attacks.
In a telephone interview, Young said he had made "if anything, a negligible amount" of money from speeches and that would have been two years ago. Young, who now lives in Salt Lake City, said he has since been giving speeches for free at conferences, colleges and other events.
He declined to say how he makes a living, but he said he wasn't paid for appearing in two new films about animal rights, including "Bold Native."
"Making money off of animal rights is something I'm absolutely against and never felt comfortable with," he said. He called the garnishment order an effort to silence his message of support for the Animal Liberation Front, a group the government considers extremist.
"They are concerned that I am giving an empowering message to activists, which is something they are fearful of," he said.
But Assistant U.S. Attorney Heidi Luehring said Young's message had nothing to do with the garnishment order. She said his speaking engagements through Evil Twin recently came to her office's attention, and it would have been treated the same "if he was working at a restaurant."
"It might not be a great deal of money, but we're taking a stab at it," she said.
Evil Twin officials did not return phone messages Tuesday seeking comment.
Once they are served with the garnishment request, they'll have 10 days to say whether they are holding any of Young's wages and expect to pay him in the future. If so, they'll have to withhold 25 percent of his net income to go toward his restitution.
The firm's website says Young can be booked to share his "inspiring story of moving from aboveground activism to midnight raids, prison, FBI wanted status and beyond."
"His defiant statements to the media and in courtrooms toward animal abusers, and those who would imprison him for acts of compassion, have earned him visibility as a unique voice among direct action prisoners," the site says. His audience, it continues, will hear views on political repression "from a man whose only crime was opening cages."
Teresa Platt, executive director of Fur Commission USA, which represents fur farmers, said she was disappointed it took three years to try to garnish Young's wages.
"He's a serious criminal and now he's making a career promoting a criminal life," she said. "He's obviously getting money from some place because he's doing a lot of traveling ... but he's getting away with it."