Student activist indicted, released

A federal judge in Iowa ordered the release of indicted University of Minnesota graduate student Scott Demuth on Monday.

Published: 12/01/2009
By James Nord
MN Daily

Against FBI recommendations, a federal judge in Iowa ordered the release of indicted University of Minnesota graduate student Scott Demuth on Monday.

The indictment came Nov. 18 after a grand jury in Davenport, Iowa subpoenaed DeMuth and fellow activist Carrie Feldman in relation to vandalism at the University of Iowa in 2004. The group Animal Liberation Front claimed responsibility for breaking into the University of Iowa's psychology department, doing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage and destroying research, as well as freeing rats and mice, according to the group's Web site.

The group Earth Warriors are OK!, which advocates for political prisoners, including DeMuth, believes the judge made the correct choice.

"What the government was arguing was completely spurious, and I think the judge recognized that," group member Natalia Shulkin said.

The FBI supplied evidence allegedly linking DeMuth to the vandalism, including a lock pick and a journal found during the Republican National Convention in St. Paul.

According to the release order, DeMuth can engage in graduate study at the University but must wear a GPS device, turn in his passport and any firearms permits and must report to a probation office weekly, among other sanctions.