Ramsey County Sheriff Investigating Twin Cities Animal Rights Groups

The Ramsey County sheriff's office revealed Tuesday that it has "researched" 13 "terroristic organizations," including People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and Minneapolis-based Animal Rights Coalition.

ARC President Charlotte Cozzetto called the news, revealed in a budget report to county commissioners, "silly," since the two-decade-old nonprofit "condemns violence against animals, including humans."

Sheriff Bob Fletcher said the research was conducted only through public resources like Google and criminal courts records. Following the federal government's Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, which targeted eco-terrorist groups beginning in 2006, the sheriff's Weapons of Mass Destruction Unit began looking into local animal-rights groups, Fletcher said. The sheriff's research included ARC, PETA, Animal Liberation Front and Britain-based Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty.

"At the current time, we do not have any investigations into any of those groups," Fletcher said. "The goal was determining where investigative resources might best be used."

By the end of this year, Fletcher estimates the unit will have investigated 20 domestic terrorist groups and 10 international terrorist groups with ties to the Twin Cities.

— Dave Orrick
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