{"article":{"id":111797,"heading":"ARTISTS SUBPOENAED IN USA PATRIOT ACT CASE","author":"lb","created":"2004-06-05 14:40:36","modified":"2004-06-05 14:40:36","last_modified":"Sat, 05 Jun 2004 21:40:36","article":"<p>June 2, 2004        \r\nFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE\r\n\r\nContact: Beatriz da Costa, mailto:media@caedefensefund.org  \r\n\r\nARTISTS SUBPOENAED IN USA PATRIOT ACT CASE\r\nFeds STILL unable to distinguish art from bioterrorism\r\nGrand jury to convene June 15\r\n\r\n            HELP URGENTLY NEEDED - SEE BELOW\r\n\r\nThree artists have been served subpoenas to appear before a federal\r\ngrand jury that will consider bioterrorism charges against a \r\nuniversity professor whose art involves the use of simple biology\r\nequipment. \r\n\r\nThe subpoenas are the latest installment in a bizarre investigation\r\nin which members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force have mistaken an\r\nart project for a biological weapons laboratory (see end for\r\nbackground). While most observers have assumed that the Task Force\r\nwould realize the absurd error of its initial investigation of Steve\r\nKurtz, the subpoenas indicate that the feds have instead chosen to\r\npress their \"case\" against the baffled professor.\r\n\r\nTwo of the subpoenaed artists--Beatriz da Costa and Steve Barnes--are,\r\nlike Kurtz, members of the internationally-acclaimed Critical Art\r\nEnsemble (CAE), an artists' collective that produces artwork to\r\neducate the public about the politics of biotechnology. They were\r\nserved the subpoenas by federal agents who tailed them to an art show\r\nat the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. The third artist,\r\nPaul Vanouse, is, like Kurtz, an art professor at the University at\r\nBuffalo. He has worked with CAE in the past.\r\n\r\nThe artists involved are at a loss to explain the increasingly bizarre\r\ncase. \"I have no idea why they're continuing (to investigate),\" said\r\nBeatriz da Costa, one of those subpoenaed. \"It was shocking that this\r\ninvestigation was ever launched. That it is continuing is positively\r\nfrightening, and shows how vulnerable the PATRIOT Act has made freedom\r\nof speech in this country.\" Da Costa is an art professor at the\r\nUniversity of California at Irvine.\r\n\r\nAccording to the subpoenas, the FBI is seeking charges under Section\r\n175 of the US Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989, which has\r\nbeen expanded by the USA PATRIOT Act. As expanded, this law prohibits\r\nthe possession of \"any biological agent, toxin, or delivery system\"\r\nwithout the justification of \"prophylactic, protective, bona fide\r\nresearch, or other peaceful purpose.\" (See\r\nhttp:\/\/www4.law.cornell.edu\/uscode\/18\/175.html for the 1989 law and\r\nhttp:\/\/www.ehrs.upenn.edu\/protocols\/patriot\/sec817.html for its USA\r\nPATRIOT Act expansion.)\r\n\r\nEven under the expanded powers of the USA PATRIOT Act, it is difficult\r\nto understand how anyone could view CAE's art as anything other than a\r\n\"peaceful purpose.\" The equipment seized by the FBI consisted mainly of\r\nCAE's most recent project, a mobile DNA extraction laboratory to test\r\nstore-bought food for possible contamination by genetically modified\r\ngrains and organisms; such equipment can be found in any university's\r\nbasic biology lab and even in many high schools (see \"Lab Tour\" at\r\nhttp:\/\/www.critical-art.net\/biotech\/free\/ for more details).\r\n\r\nThe grand jury in the case is scheduled to convene June 15 in Buffalo,\r\nNew York. Here, the jury will decide whether or not to indict Steve\r\nKurtz on the charges brought by the FBI. A protest is being planned at\r\n9 a.m. on June 15 outside the courthouse at 138 Delaware Ave. in\r\nBuffalo.\r\n\r\nHELP NEEDED\r\n\r\nFinancial donations:\r\nThe CAE Defense Fund has so far received over 200 donations in amounts\r\nranging from $5 to $400. This is a wonderful outpouring of sympathy,\r\nbut a drop in the bucket compared to the potential costs of the case.\r\nTo make a donation, please visit http:\/\/www.caedefensefund.org\/\r\n\r\nLetters of support:\r\nLetters and petitions of support from biologists, artists, and others,\r\nespecially those in positions of responsibility at prominent\r\ninstitutions or companies, could be very useful. See\r\nhttp:\/\/www.caedefensefund.org\/ for a sample letter of support.\r\n\r\nLegal offers and letters of support:\r\nIf you are a lawyer, offers of pro bono support or offers to write\r\namicus briefs would be very helpful.\r\n\r\nBACKGROUND\r\n\r\nEarly morning of May 11, Steve Kurtz awoke to find his wife, Hope,\r\ndead of a cardiac arrest. Kurtz called 911. The police arrived and,\r\nafter stumbling across test tubes and petri dishes Kurtz was using\r\nin a current artwork, called in the Joint Terrorism Task Force.\r\n\r\nSoon agents from the Task Force and FBI detained Kurtz, cordoned off\r\nthe entire block around his house, and later impounded Kurtz's\r\ncomputers, manuscripts, books, equipment, and even his wife's body for\r\nfurther analysis. The Buffalo Health Department condemned the house as\r\na health risk.\r\n\r\nOnly after the Commissioner of Public Health for New York State had\r\ntested samples from the home and announced there was no public safety\r\nthreat was Kurtz able to return home and recover his wife's body. Yet\r\nthe FBI would not release the impounded materials, which included\r\nartwork for an upcoming exhibition at the Massachusetts Museum of\r\nContemporary Art.\r\n\r\nWhile most observers assumed the Task Force would realize that its\r\ninitial investigation of Steve Kurtz was a terrible mistake, the\r\nsubpoenas indicate that the feds have instead chosen to press their\r\n\"case\" against Kurtz and possibly others.\r\n\r\nTo donate to the CAE Defense Fund, and for up-to-date information on\r\nthe case, please visit http:\/\/www.caedefensefund.org\/\r\n\r\nFor more information on the Critical Art Ensemble, please visit\r\nhttp:\/\/www.critical-art.net\/\r\n\r\nTo join a list about the case, please visit\r\nhttp:\/\/groups.yahoo.com\/group\/CAE_Defense\r\n\r\nArticles and television stories about the case:\r\nhttp:\/\/www.appliedautonomy.com\/cae\/\r\nhttp:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/articles\/A8278-2004Jun1.html\r\nhttp:\/\/www.newsday.com\/news\/local\/wire\/ny-bc-ny--materialsremoved0601jun01,0,3539235.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire\r\nhttp:\/\/www.buffalonews.com\/editorial\/20040602\/1048042.asp\r\n\r\nOn advice of counsel, Steve Kurtz is unable to answer questions\r\nregarding his case. Please direct questions or comments to\r\nmailto:media@caedefensefund.org.\r\n\r\n--\r\n(MAKE SURE TO CUT BELOW LINES OFF WHEN FORWARDING, or your personal\r\nprofile will become known to everyone.)\r\n\r\nTo edit your profile or unsubscribe from mailings, please visit\r\nhttp:\/\/rtmark.com\/caedefense\/dblist\/prof.php?e=lenor@mn.rr.com&amp;x=998748746\r\n\r\n<\/p>\n","contact":"lbarry@mninter.net","link":"http:\/\/www.caedefensefund.org\/","address":"","phone":"612.872.6284","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"text\/html","summary":"Feds STILL unable to distinguish art from bioterrorism\r\nGrand jury to convene June 15\r\n\r\n            HELP URGENTLY NEEDED - SEE BELOW\r\n\r\nThree artists have been served subpoenas to appear before a federal\r\ngrand jury that will consider bioterrorism charges against a \r\nuniversity professor whose art involves the use of simple biology\r\nequipment. \r\n","numcomment":0,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/","filesize":null,"article_url":"\/news\/2004\/06\/111797.php"},"attachments":[],"comments":[]}