SAN DIEGO _ Two Oakland animal rights activists have been sentenced to federal prison for "terrorizing the fur industry" during a cross-country trip in 2013, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Nicole Juanita Kissane, 30, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in San Diego on Wednesday to 21 months in prison and ordered to pay $423,477 to her victims. Her partner in the crimes, Joseph Brian Buddenberg, 32, was sentenced in May to two years in prison and ordered to pay $398,272 in restitution.
The U.S. Attorney's Office said the pair caused hundred of thousands of dollars in damage by vandalizing properties and releasing mink from commercial farms.
"Vandalizing homes and businesses with acid, glue and chemicals in the dark of night is a form of domestic terrorism," said Acting U.S. Attorney Alana W. Robinson in a statement. "Whatever your feelings about the fur industry, these sentences are a pretty strong signal that this isn't the right way to effect change."
Kissane and Buddenberg each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act. The maximum penalty for the charge is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Their acts included vandalizing a San Diego fur store with glues and acids, slashing the tires of a San Francisco meat distributor's truck, and attempting to flood the Wisconsin home of a North American Fur Auctions employee. They freed more than 5,600 mink from ranches in Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, according to prosecutors.
