In an August 1993 report to Congress on the effects of domestic and international terrorism on animal enterprises, it says “While the US Animal Enterprise Protection Act defines terrorism as physical disruption to the functioning of an animal enterprise, the FBI defines terrorism as “the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property, intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.” The objective of Sea Shepherd’s campaigns in Norway is, according to their press releases, to force the Norwegian government to give up whaling and to cause the whalers undue expense by way of repairs, safety measures and increased insurance costs, in order to make them give up their occupation.
According to the aforementioned report, Congress passed the Animal Enterprise Protection Act in 1992 “in response to concerns about what was perceived by many to be rapidly expanding violence and other disruptive expressions of extremism on behalf of animal rights.” The report continues to say “Indeed, since the early 1980’s, a broad range of enterprises, in both public and private sectors, that use or market animals or animal derived products ... have been targeted by radical elements within the animal rights movement with acts of disruption, vandalism and in many cases physical destruction. In enacting the Animal Enterprise Protection Act, Congress sought to punish those who engage in acts of terrorism against animal enterprises and to deter others from doing the same.”
Gone underground
Today, he has gone underground. A federal grand jury in Michigan has handed down a five-count indictment against him (July 16, 1993) for the use of unregistered explosives, extortion and threats to interfere in interstate commerce and interstate transportation, to commit arson, theft and destruction of government property, and for receiving stolen property. If convicted, he could face 50 years in prison.
The indictments stem from the February 29, 1992 fire-bombing of Michigan State University in East Lancing, which destroyed 32 years of research dedicated to protecting wild mink from pollution, and a decade of vitro research. Responsibility for the act was claimed by the Animal Liberation Front, an animal terrorist group which has claimed responsibility for more than 250 such attacks in the US, causing more than 57 million US dollar’s worth of damage since 1982.
Rodney Coronado is one of the two American citizens who were responsible for the sinking of two whaling vessels in Iceland in 1986 and the serious damage done to the whaling station just outside Reykjavik. Sea Shepherd claimed responsibility for the attacks. Coronado has taken part in a number of Sea Shepherd’s violent activities.