Animal Nuts Claim Terror Constitutionally Protected

Six animal rights activists charged with acts of terrorism in New Jersey are claiming their free speech rights are being violated, says Reuters.

The charges resulted from actions taken against pharmaceutical firm Huntingdon Life Sciences, which conducts animal testing.

And just exactly how were these folks exercising their "speech" rights? By invading offices, damaging property, stealing documents and -- get this -- spraying cleaning fluid in the eyes of Huntingdon workers, smashing the windows of their homes and threatening to kill their families.

Someone's been watching a little too much HBO -- normally, stuff like that happening in Jersey is more closely associated with the Sopranos.

I'm not really sure how attempting to blind someone qualifies as "speech," but hey, what do I know?

The group charges that they are being targeted as part of a Bush administration crackdown.

Sounds like we're going after the right people.