Santa Cruz Sentinel
Accused animal rights activists appear in court
By Jennifer Squires
Posted: 02/27/2009 01:30:02 AM PST
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_11797016?source=rssSAN JOSE -- Two animal rights activists accused of making threats
during protests in front of the homes of UC Santa Cruz and UC Berkeley
researchers appeared in federal court in San Jose on Thursday.
Joseph Buddenberg, 25, of Berkeley, and former UCSC student Maryam
Khajavi, 20, of Pinole both came before Magistrate Judge Richard
Seeborg while about a dozen young supporters sat in the courtroom
gallery.
Two other animal rights activists arrested by the FBI in connection
with the protests -- one-time Cabrillo College student Nathan Pope,
26, of Oceanside and former UCSC student Adriana Stumpo, 23, of Long
Beach -- are making their way back to California from North Carolina,
where they were arrested Friday. They were released late Wednesday and
are expected to be in court next week.
Buddenberg and Khajavi will both return to court March 19 for a
preliminary hearing, at which time a judge will determine if there's
enough evidence to move forward with a trial. It's possible Pope and
Stumpo will also be a part of that hearing.
The foursome are accused of an attempted home invasion attack of a
UCSC researcher a year ago as well as several demonstrations at the
homes of UC Berkeley researchers in late 2007 and early 2008. No one
has been charged in the most egregious of the animal rights protests
-- the July firebombings of two UCSC scientists' homes.
Thursday's court appearance was relatively uneventful, with the
exception of one activist supporter being pulled out of court by U.S.
Marshals for trying to use a camera in the courtroom. Seeborg scolded
everyone in court and threatened to hold people in contempt if they
tried to photograph or record the legal proceedings. Cameras are
banned from federal courtrooms.
Khajavi, who is free on bond, was in court Thursday with her attorney,
well-known civil rights lawyer Tony Serra, to set the next court date.
Buddenberg, who was arrested at a downtown Oakland courthouse last
week while appearing on a charge related to the federal case, asked
Seeborg to release him on his own recognizance.
According to Alameda County Superior Court records, Buddenberg pleaded
no contest to a charge of disturbing the peace during an animal rights
protest Feb. 2, 2008 outside the Berkeley home of Robert Bluhm, the
assistant director of capital projects at UC Berkeley.
Buddenberg received one year deferred judgment for his participation
in the protest, during which authorities allege that he and another
man ignored requests to stay off the property and quit yelling "You
killed animals" with a bullhorn.
The two also banged on Bluhm's door and windows, and fled only when
police arrived, according to court documents.
Buddenberg movements are confined to an East Bay halfway house. His
attorneys said Buddenberg, who is vegan, had not eaten since he was
placed in the halfway house last week.
They also argued that none of the other defendants in the federal case
were incarcerated. However, Seeborg said Buddenberg needed a reliable
address and people to be his legal custodians before the judge would
consider releasing him.
Staff writer J.M. Brown contributed to this report.