(image is of anarchists and communists awaiting deportation hearings)

Well, maybe he really meant the ALF part, but here’s a quote from a prosecutor, about Scott DeMuth.
“Defendant’s writings, literature, and conduct suggest that he is an anarchist and associated with the ALF movement,” Clifford Cronk, U.S. Attorney wrote. “Therefore, he is a domestic terrorist.”

I’m reminded, of course, of the Haymarket Affair, when the government hanged four people, explicitly because they were anarchists. Only later did it apologize. And of course there’s the Anarchist Exclusion Act, passed in 1903 and never repealed, that allows immigrants to be deported on account of their politics.

Now, I’m not one who really believes in the legitimacy of law, but I fully believe that what laws exist lose their pretense of legitimacy entirely when they are targeted not at people actually committing crimes, but at things that may lead to someone committing crime. For example, curfew laws are aimed at keeping crime down, but there already are laws against assault, vandalism, etc. And then there are sweeping laws like The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act that make free speech a crime, and add additional charges on top of other things, like vandalism and arson (which, last I was looking, were already illegal).

So yeah… being an anarchist isn’t a crime within a society that ostensibly respects the freedom of speech and thought. (that word ostensibly is important in that sentence though.) But here it is, we’re domestic terrorists.

edit: damn, anarchists knew how to dress back in the day. Look how classy!