Opinion ID: 1435629
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: .Counts Two, Three, Four, and Five Conspiracy to Commit Stalking and Substantive Stalking

Text: SHAC, Kjonaas, Gazzola and Conroy were convicted of conspiracy to commit interstate stalking, in addition to aiding and abetting substantive interstate stalking of Sally Dillenback, Marion Harlos, and Robert Harper, respectively. Interstate stalking is proscribed by 18 U.S.C. § 2261A. To prove stalking, the government must establish (1) Defendants used a facility of interstate commerce; (2) to engage in a course of conduct with the intent to place a person in reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury either to that person or to a partner or immediate family member; and (3) the course of conduct actually put that person in reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury to himself or his partner or immediate family member. See, e.g., United States v. Wills, 346 F.3d 476, 493-94 (4th Cir.2003). To prove a conspiracy to commit interstate stalking, the government must also prove that the charged defendants agreed to participate in a conspiracy to commit interstate stalking. Finally, with regard to aiding and abetting, a defendant is punishable as the principal if the government establishes, beyond a reasonable doubt, that either the defendant committed the stalking or aid[ed], abet[ted], counsel[ed], command[ed], induce[d] or procure[d] the substantive act of stalking by another person. 18 U.S.C. § 2.
Kjonaas argues that the government failed to produce sufficient evidence of his intent to place the victims in reasonable fear of serious bodily injury or death, as required by the interstate stalking statute. Specifically, he argues that he only intended to harass, make the [victims'] lives miserable, cause emotional distress, and embarrass the victims. (Kjonaas Br. at 78-79.) He contrasts the intention to inflict this type of emotional distress with the statute's requirement that he intend to put the victim in reasonable fear of death or bodily injury. We disagree. SHAC invoked Brian Cass's injuries to instill fear in others targeted by the campaign; SHAC activists constantly used ultimatums when they targeted individuals, threatening or else if the companies failed to sever their ties with Huntingdon; following the Chiron bombing, Kjonaas noted the escalation in the severity of the campaign and warned that Huntingdon and Chiron should be very worried. The SHAC website boasted that anonymous activists had arranged for an undertaker to collect a target's body, and the Top 20 Terror Tactics mentions physical attacks and threats to kill and injure as effective means of protest. The website discussed Andrew Baker's bloody California bungalow, with the line, You can run, but you can't hide! In addition, the SHAC website celebrated extreme acts of vandalism by posting photographs of overturned vehicles and houses splattered with red paint. Kjonaas knew that all of this information was widely available on the internet, and that when Dillenback, Harlos, and Harper were targeted, they could easily discern what had happened to those who came before them and feel intimidated accordingly.
Gazzola argues that the government failed to establish that the alleged threats were communicated to the targets, and that there was insufficient evidence that the targets' fear of bodily harm was reasonable. SHAC also makes the latter argument. We can reject these arguments with little discussion. Gazzola personally stood outside of Robert Harper's house and threatened to burn it down, and warned that the police could not protect him. All of the stalking victims-Sally Dillenback, Marion Harlos, and Robert Harper-testified that they were aware that they had been targeted. Dillenback testified that she received an e-mail in which someone asked her how she would feel if someone cut open her son and filled him with poison. All the stalking victims testified that they were afraid for their safety, and the safety of their families, because they knew what had happened to Brian Cass and others who preceded them in this campaign.
Finally, Conroy argues there was insufficient evidence to convict him of all stalking-related counts. The crux of his argument is that he was tied to the conspiracy through his work administering the website, of which there was proof only after the 2003 seizure of the computers from SHAC headquarters. He argues that because the government charged him with involvement in a conspiracy that ended in December 2002, his involvement with SHAC in 2003 does not suffice to convict him of a conspiracy that had already terminated. With regard to the substantive stalking counts, Conroy argues that there is insufficient evidence that he posted information about Dillenback, Harlos, and Robert Harper on the website, and that the government cannot prove that he was even aware of the nature of the campaign against those individuals. Conroy's argument ignores evidence of his involvement beyond the evidence that he was the primary user of computers used to administer SHAC's websites. There was evidence that Conroy managed SHAC's website as early as August 2001, which predates the start date of the government's charged conspiracy. Documents that contained confidential business records for Bank of New York were posted in August 2001, and those same documents were found in a folder labeled with Conroy's name in SHAC's office. In addition, Conroy created his PGP account, which he used to communicate with his co-Defendants and other SHAC activists, in January 2002. The record is also peppered with evidence of his involvement with the campaign well before the termination of the conspiracy in December 2002. With regard to Conroy's arguments about his lack of personal involvement in the stalking, we note that the government charged him with aiding and abetting, and not as a principal. Given Conroy's overall course of conduct, the jury could conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that Conroy maintained the website, the primary tool that made the stalking possible. The website not only communicated the victims' personal information, but the website also disseminated the information that made the victims' fears reasonable: threats that people associated with Huntingdon would be treated like Brian Cass, photos of extreme vandalism, ultimatums, and threats. Conroy's involvement as website administrator, which the jury could conclude predated the end of the conspiracy, made the stalking, if not the entire campaign, possible.