Animal rights activists arrested by FBI

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 21 (UPI) -- Four animal rights activists in California have been arrested for allegedly attacking and harassing researchers at two college campuses, officials said.

The Los Angeles Times reported Saturday the suspects are Adriana Stumpo, 23, of Long Beach; Nathan Pope, 26, of Oceanside; Joseph Buddenberg, 25, of Berkeley; and Maryam Khajavi, 20, of Pinole. The FBI charged them with targeting researchers at the University of California at Berkeley and the university's Santa Cruz branch during the past 18 months.

The suspects allegedly were pressuring scientists to jettison research projects that use live animals.

"With so many legal options to make their voices heard and to effect policy change, it is inexcusable and cowardly for these people to resort to terrorizing the families of those with whom they do not agree," said Charlene Thornton, special agent in charge of the FBI's San Francisco office.

The newspaper said Pope, Stumpo and Khajavi were accused of being among protesters who attempted to force their way into a UC Santa Cruz professor's home during a birthday party last February.

Pope, Stumpo and Buddenberg are charged with publishing the names and addresses of several UC Santa Cruz scientists in a flier that stated "animal abusers everywhere beware we know where you live we know where you work we will never back down until you end your abuse."

The Times noted that soon after the flier was published, the homes of two researchers on the list were firebombed. Those incidents remain under investigation, the newspaper said.