My time at MDC continues with little access to stamps and envelopes so I think these little entries on my blog can help me be in touch with as many of you as possible. Forgive me if I don’t have new things to say about where I’m at – it’s quite mundane and really, I have a tremendous backlog, so to speak, of things to write about. On that note…
I didn’t meet Jonathan Paul until the Spring of 2006 – some 5 months after my arrest – a fact some may find amusing when you consider the government’s propaganda about “the Family” (the name they love to use for dramatic impact in the media…and courts). Having lived in the Northwest, I couldn’t help but know of Jonathan being lucky enough to have mutual friends and hear campfire tales of resistance to grand juries, advocacy for what they call “fur animals” and integrity through it all. On some level, the government was right – we were both involved in trying to protect ecosystems and animals in the Northwest and thus, part of a big family. This family though wasn’t (isn’t?) the sensationalized image the government used in our prosecution but a community that valued life over property, compassion over greed and integrity over cooperation.
This is something not well known about the plea negotiations undertaken by the hard-working lawyers of the non-cooperating defendants in the “Operation Backfire” case. The plea was an all or nothing deal – either all of us took it or the deal was gone. Jonathan, unlike myself, Sadie (s/n: Joyanna Zacher) and Exile (s/n: Nathan Block) did not have the dreaded and absurd 924c counts (use of a destructive device). He was facing one conspiracy count and one arson count for his role in the arson of the Cavel West horse slaughterhouse meaning he could have gone to trial and conceivably faced 5 years. Myself, Exile and Sadie were facing life plus an insane number of years due to the all too typical over-charging by the feds. Jonathan could have gone to trial. He could have rolled the die and possibly won, but he didn’t. He refused to let us hang and lose the plea deal and for that I am eternally grateful to him.
These are the untold stories of this case – how ordinary people facing massive time can still act with honor. There is nothing unique or special about any of us and, in fact, I am constantly shaking my head at my mistakes I have made in life and with this case (Can you say wiretap?!)
My point is simple – Jonathan Paul is an excellent person and he deserves your support even though he won’t ever ask for it. He got sentenced to a 51 month sentence last week and will be reporting to prison in 2 months. Please make sure he is supported and do not forget the principled manner in which he conducted himself.
Finally, I want to thank the overzealous, Green scare-ing prosecutors and federal agents running the farce known as “Operation Backfire” for introducing me to Jonathan Paul. Our families and wives have been supportive of each other and I’m happy to have finally met Jonathan.
Jonathan’s info:
Friends of Jonathan Paul
PMB 267
2305 Ashland Street, Ste. C
Ashland, OR 97520
friendsofjonathanpaul@yahoo.com
PS – It’s a wonderful postscript to this case that horse slaughtering has finally been banned and places such as Cavel West can no longer legally operate in the US.