Paula Deen Racist Comments, Use Of N-Word Allegedly Caught On Video [UPDATED]

Paula Deen Racist Comments, Use Of N-Word Allegedly Caught On Video [UPDATED]

The Huffington Post  |  By Rachel Tepper Posted: 06/19/2013 3:23 pm EDT  |  Updated: 06/21/2013 9:01 am EDT

Paula Deen is no stranger to controversy, but new allegations of racism leveled against the Southern chef may shock even those who have followed her troubles most closely.

The National Enquirer claims to have acquired a video of a deposition in which Deen admits to using the N-word and making racist and anti-semitic jokes. She also allegedly describes her interest in hiring black waiters dressed to look like "slaves" at a wedding.

The deposition, which was reportedly held on May 17, took place as part of a court case brought forth by former Paula Deen Enterprises employee Lisa Jackson against Deen and her brother, Earl “Bubba” Hiers. Jackson alleges several instances of sexual and racial workplace discrimination.

Neither the video of the deposition or The National Enquirer's story are available on the web, but Radar Online posted some of the story's most disturbing highlights:

[W]hen asked if she wanted black men to play the role of slaves at a wedding she explained she got the idea from a restaurant her husband and her had dined at saying, “The whole entire waiter staff was middle-aged black men, and they had on beautiful white jackets with a black bow tie.

“I mean, it was really impressive. That restaurant represented a certain era in America…after the Civil War, during the Civil War, before the Civil War…It was not only black men, it was black women…I would say they were slaves.”

While The National Enquirer has a checkered history when it comes to printing the truth, it's worth noting that the tabloid was first to break the story that Deen suffered from type II diabetes, and its early reporting on the John Edwards affair turned the story into a national scandal.

A representative for Deen strongly refutes The National Enquirer's allegations, telling Entertainment Tonight that, “Contrary to media reports, Ms. Deen does not condone or find the use of racial epithets acceptable. She is looking forward to her day in court.”

We'll be following this story closely to see if these allegations pan out. If they do, we imagine Paula Deen will have some explaining to do.

UPDATE 6/19, 3:40 P.M.: The Huffington Post has obtained a transcript of the deposition in question. The quotes below are pulled directly from it.

On using the N-word:

Lawyer: Have you ever used the N-word yourself?
Deen: Yes, of course.

Lawyer: Okay. In what context?
Deen: Well, it was probably when a black man burst into the bank that I was working at and put a gun to my head.

Lawyer: Okay. And what did you say?
Deen: Well, I don't remember, but the gun was dancing all around my temple ... I didn't -- I didn't feel real favorable towards him.

Lawyer: Okay. Well, did you use the N-word to him as he pointed a gun in your head at your face?
Deen: Absolutely not.

Lawyer: Well, then, when did you use it?
Deen: Probably in telling my husband.

Lawyer: Okay. Have you used it since then?
Deen: I'm sure I have, but it's been a very long time.

Lawyer: Can you remember the context in which you have used the N-word?
Deen: No.

Lawyer: Has it occurred with sufficient frequency that you cannot recall all of the various context in which you've used it?
Deen: No, no.

Lawyer: Well, then tell me the other context in which you've used the N-word?
Deen: I don't know, maybe in repeating something that was said to me.

Lawyer: Like a joke?
Deen: No, probably a conversation between blacks. I don't -- I don't know. But that's just not a word that we use as time has gone on. Things have changed since the '60s in the south. And my children and my brother object to that word being used in any cruel or mean behavior. As well as I do.

On her brother's behavior:

Lawyer: Are you aware of Mr. Hiers admitting that he engaged in racially and sexually inappropriate behavior in the workplace?

...

Deen: I guess

Lawyer: Okay. Well, have you done anything about what you heard him admit to doing?
Deen: My brother and I have had conversations. My brother is not a bad person. Do humans behave inappropriately? At times, yes. I don't know one person that has not. My brother is a good man. Have we told jokes? Have we said things that we should not have said, that -- yes, we all have. We all have done that, every one of us.

On telling jokes that target African Americans, Jews, gays and other groups:

Lawyer: What about jokes, if somebody is telling a joke that's got -- 
Deen: It's just what they are, they're jokes.

Lawyer: Okay. Would you consider those to be using the N word in a mean way?

…

Deen: That's -- that's kind of hard. Most -- most jokes are about Jewish people, rednecks, black folks. Most jokes target -- I don't know. I didn't make up the jokes, I don't know. I can't -- I don't know.

Lawyer: Okay.
Deen: They usually target, though a group. Gays or straights, black, redneck, you know, I just don't know. I can't, myself, determine what offends another person.

On planning a Southern plantation-style wedding:

Lawyer: Do you recall using the words “really southern plantation wedding”?Deen: Yes, I did say I would love for Bubba to experience a very southern style wedding, and we did that. We did that.

Lawyer: Okay. You would love for him to experience a southern style plantation wedding?
Deen: Yes.

Lawyer: That’s what you said?
Deen: Well, something like that, yes. And -–

Laywer: Okay. And is that when you went on to describe the experience you had at the restaurant in question?
Deen: Well, I don’t know. We were probably talking about the food or –- we would have been talking about something to do with service at the wedding, and –-

...

Lawyer: Is there any possibility, in your mind, that you slipped and used the word “n----r”?
Deen: No, because that’s not what these men were. They were professional black men doing a fabulous job.

Lawyer: Why did that make it a -– if you would have had servers like that, why would that have made it a really southern plantation wedding?

...

Deen: Well, it –- to me, of course I’m old but I ain’t that old, I didn’t live back in those days but I’ve seen the pictures, and the pictures that I’ve seen, that restaurant represented a certain era in America.

Lawyer: Okay.
Deen: And I was in the south when I went to this restaurant. It was located in the south.

Lawyer: Okay. What era in America are you referring to?
Deen: Well, I don’t know. After the Civil War, during the Civil War, before the Civil War.

Lawyer: Right. Back in an era where there were middle-aged black men waiting on white people.
Deen: Well, it was not only black men, it was black women.

Lawyer: Sure. And before the Civil War –- before the Civil War, those black men and women who were waiting on white people were slaves, right?
Deen: Yes, I would say that they were slaves.

Lawyer: Okay.
Deen: But I did not mean anything derogatory by saying that I loved their look and their professionalism.

Read the transcript of the entire deposition below:

Paula Deen Deposition Testimony

UPDATE 6/20, 12:40 P.M.: Food Network has released a statement saying that the channel "does not tolerate any form of discrimination and is a strong proponent of diversity and inclusion. We will continue to monitor the situation."

UPDATE 6/20, 12:50 P.M.: In a statement, Paula Deen Enterprises defends Deen:

"During a deposition where she swore to tell the truth, Ms. Deen recounted having used a racial epithet in the past, speaking largely about a time in American history which was quite different than today. She was born 60 years ago when America's South had schools that were segregated, different bathrooms, different restaurants and Americans rode in different parts of the bus. This is not today. To be clear Ms. Deen does not find acceptable the use of this term under any circumstance by anyone nor condone any form of racism or discrimination. "

UPDATE 6/21, 8:50 A.M.: Deen pulled out of a scheduled Friday morning appearance on the "Today" show, where she was supposed to address the current scandal.

Host Matt Lauer told viewers that he had spoken with Deen the day before to arrange the interview, but that one of her representatives informed him, shortly before the show's airtime on Friday, she would not be attending.

Lauer and "Today" show personality Al Roker have both tweeted about the incident:

The First Day of Summer 2013 -- COMMENTARY BY SEA SHEPHERD FOUNDER, PAUL WATSON

http://www.seashepherd.org.au/commentary-and-editorials/2013/06/21/the-first-day-of-summer-2013-615

June 21, 2013

The First Day of Summer 2013 

COMMENTARY BY SEA SHEPHERD FOUNDER, PAUL WATSON

Today is the first day of summer and it marks four complete seasons that I have been in exile and unable to return home.

It has been a challenging year but more importantly it has been a very rewarding year.

Passionate Sea Shepherd volunteers saved 932 whales during Operation Zero Tolerance in the Southern Ocean including 50 endangered Fin whales. And our volunteers were saving lives all over the globe from Taiji, Japan to LaReunion Island in the Indian Ocean to the coast of Brazil in the South Atlantic and onto the Galapagos in the Pacific.

Many of the new-born whale calves born this spring off Australia and Tonga and New Zealand  were born because Sea Shepherd intervened. That has brought me more joy than anything else this year.

I think the most rewarding thing however is the growing realization that the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is not a centralized organization. It is a global movement.

What I established in 1977 is now a free flowing movement with thousands of passionate and imaginative men and women worldwide doing what they can with the resources available to them to defend and protect our oceans.

And we are doing so non-violently and effectively.

In many ways I think it has been a positive thing that I have been forced by Japanese pressure to be exiled from the movement that I created. As a result I have seen so many people around the world rise to the occasion with campaigns protecting everything from gooseneck barnacles and sea cucumbers to sharks, turtles and whales.

Neither one person nor one organization can change the world, but a free flowing ever evolving movement that encourages individuals to act, to create campaigns and ideas and to exercise their courage and their initiative against the forces of oceanic and global destruction can indeed change the world.

The Sea Shepherd movement is strong, and it is global, and it is growing, and it will certainly survive without me.

These corporations and governments so intent upon destroying life in our oceans must understand that there are millions of people who will defend the endangered, protected and threatened species and habitats.

We will continue to fight the whalers, sealers, turtle and fish poachers, shark finners and polluters on the sea, in the courts and in the media.

Last month Jairo Mora Sandoval, a young conservationist protecting sea-turtles in Costa Rica was brutally murdered. He was only 26. Compared to his sacrifice, my exile, and the legal suits against us are relatively minor.

They can take our property, our money, our freedom but they cannot take away our passion and our dedication to defend life and diversity in the ocean. And if they take our lives, as they did with Jairo, we need to let them know that we are prepared to die in our defense of life and diversity in the seas.

This is serious business. Defending diversity in the oceans is the single most important cause on the planet. More important than curing cancer, or defeating terrorism, more important that anything that we can imagine because the ocean is our life support system and without the ocean, we die, all of us.

And thus this is a movement that cuts across all cultural, class and political concerns because it involves us all, even those people too ecologically ignorant to understand the fragile web of interdependent life that holds our global life support system together.

If over the last century millions have died in wars to defend real estate and oil wells, I think that risking all to defend the future of life in the seas and thus our own survival is a far more noble pursuit.

If there is one message that I have spent my life trying to convey it is simply this; if the oceans die, we die!

This is a movement for life and a movement against death, a movement for the future and against greed and short-term visions.

Everything we do sends ripples, positive or negative, into the future and the future of all the people and animals yet unborn is determined by our actions.

And as for my own situation, I am free upon the seas and it has not been unpleasant. In fact it has been quite the adventure. I have crossed three oceans to the far side of the world from where I began without papers or harassment. I have been able to swim with the sharks and turtles, to watch the whales, the dolphins and the albatross, to see the daily rising and setting of the sun, to feel the wind in my hair and the taste of salt on my lips.

I have not felt so excitingly alive in years as I have over the past year. I have friends and supporters, a family that supports me and I have enemies to keep me strong and vigilant.

In short I have everything that I need to be secure and happy. It also gives me time to write.

Tomorrow will mark the day when the moon will be the closest to the Earth for the entire year. At night the galaxy tosses tens of thousands of stars across the sky.  Each day reveals a new pattern of clouds and new experiences with the weather and the winds. Life is beautiful and a treasure to be appreciated every single day.

So to all the Sea Shepherd warriors around the world all I can say is you are all doing an incredible job in your efforts to defend life in the ocean and on this planet.  I may not be able to be with you, to speak directly to you but I am, and I always will be, with you all.

Captain Paul Watson: Thoughts and Observances from the High Seas

Wise words from Captain Paul Watson,

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

Paul Watson

Thursday, November 15, 2012 at 12:32pm

Thoughts and Observances from the High Seas

Thoughts and Observances from the High Seas

The Steve Irwin is at sea and the Brigitte Bardot has departed from Los Angeles. The Nisshin Maru remains in dry dock in Hiroshima. The Bob Barker is preparing for departure from Sydney and the Sam Simon and myself remain in an undisclosed location. The manager of the El Torito restaurant in Marina del Rey reported to the crew of the Brigitte Bardot that a Japanese man with a video camera kept asking to move his seat to get different views of the Brigitte Bardot. The restaurant was overlooking the berth where the Brigitte Bardot was moored.

The Japanese spy for the whaling companies would have seen hundreds of supporters visiting the Brigitte Bardot bring donations of food, equipment and cash to support the campaign to stop the Japanese whaling fleet.

He may also have been looking for me, but I was not there.

The Japanese whalers can send in their spies but our spy network is much more effective, because our spies are whistleblowers who come forward to volunteer information on their own, like the manager of the El Torito restaurant in the Marina. By the way, if anyone goes for a meal there remember to thank him for looking out for the whales.

One very generous and moving donation came from Robin Pozniakoff, who brought down and presented the Bardot's crew with binoculars used by her father in the United States Navy in 1944. It is an honor indeed to have onboard binoculars that were used in the fight against Japanese military imperialism nearly seventy years ago. The crew reports that these binoculars, made especially for the United States Navy by Bausch and Lomb in 1943, are superior than most of the modern binoculars on the market today.

The Sam Simon and I remain in an undisclosed location making preparations for the upcoming interventions against the Japanese whaling fleet. Despite the cadre of lawyers with lawsuits and bogus charges they have thrown at us, despite their diplomatic pressures, despite their public relations expenditures all financed by the money they stole from the Tsunami victims, they have not shut down our campaign and they have not stopped me.

But we fully intend to stop them, because I intend to demonstrate that passion trumps money and my crews are more passionate about defending the whales than the whalers are about killing them, because we are driven by compassion, whereas they are driven by greed.

I have to say that the Solar eclipse yesterday was a fascinating sight for those of us fortunate to see it. It won’t happen again until 2015.

I was thinking today of the few people who write to tell me that they hate me because of what I do, or how I do what I do. They do not like that I protect whales, or they just don’t like the way I go about saving whales, apparently. Not that I care, since I work to protect whales for the sake of the whales and not to please people, but it is a curiosity as to why people take the time to write to tell me that they hate me because of what I do and how I do it.

Not that this is a revelation. I have received thousands of hate messages and hundreds of death threats over the years, and for the most part, I have found it all very amusing.

I especially like the ones that accuse me of being violent and follow up with the accusation that they hope someone kills me.

In my entire career I have never injured a single person, but these people don’t want to confuse their ideology with reality and thus the simple fact that they don’t like what I do or how I do it translates into me being a violent person.

But the reason I bring this up is because of the fact that many people, especially on internet social networks, are attacked and bullied by others. For some this is intimidating, threatening, and depressing.

As someone who has been most viciously attacked for decades, I simply would like to offer some advice.

Ignore these people. They are simply energy sucking vampires.

As Chris Guillebeau wrote in his book The Art of Non-Conformity: “If you want to make a lot of people hate you, all you need to do is be successful doing something you love.”

And the more you succeed, the more vicious become the critics.

What I have found is that those who waste energy attacking the deeds of others do not themselves contribute anything positive to the world.

As Albert Einstein once observed: “Great spirits have always been violently oppressed by mediocre minds.”

And don’t worry if people talk crap about you. As Oscar Wilde once wrote: “The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.”

So the more haters and the more angry critics that you recruit, the more reassurance you will have that you are on the right path and doing the right thing.

These are my rules for dealing with haters: (1) If you don’t know someone personally i.e. if they are not close friends or family, their opinion of you is irrelevant. (2) If you are criticized positively by friends and family, listen to them, if criticized negatively, or with malice, ignore them also. (3) Any comment left on internet postings by people you don’t know, are unimportant and should not even be read. (4) If someone leaves a negative comment on your Facebook page all you need to do is delete the comment and ban them. DO NOT respond because that just encourages and empowers them. (5) Most importantly of all, remember that you need not answer to anyone but your own conscience. Thus you need not respond to any criticism unless you can determine if there is anything positive to be gained by responding, and usually there isn’t.

The one thing I have found is that these kind of hateful people absolutely despise being ignored, and thus, that is the best way to deal with them.

I used to respond sometimes to people I did not know because I found it amusing to do so, but over time I realized that giving encouragement to these kind of faceless people was not a positive thing, no matter how amusing I felt it to be.

I do, however, respond to some of my traditional enemies, people I knew or know, that have actual faces, like corporate public relations whores like Patrick Moore or the public relations lackey for the whaling industry Glen Inwood, for example, because I know them and what I can gain is to expose their hypocrisy and provoke thought about their championing of industries assaulting nature.

_________________________________________________________

When the cyberbully and cyberstalker Improper Adoptee attacks me next, I will remember the wisdom of my Captain, Paul Watson, and realize she is nothing but a faceless person, a hater, a bully and someone who wastes her energy attacking someone knowing well they do good deeds. She's a hater. She accuses me for years of being violent, yet I, too, have never hurt a single person. She is a waste of time and energy and she needs a mental evaluation for the serious problem she has, because her focus on me is all too consuming and she is spending far too much time focusing on me instead of trying to make herself well.

Negotiation Is Over: 6/15/13 update on Camille Marino

6/15/13 update on Camille Marino

Posted by Negotiation Is Over on June 15, 2013

On June 3, Camille was removed from Sumter County Jail in Bushnell, Florida (where she had been held since May 22) by the authorities and transported to Wayne County Jail in Detroit, Michigan.  She was booked into Wayne County Jail on June 11.  The next morning, Camille was brought to court to be arraigned on the charge that she violated probation.

Although Camille’s attorney came to the court to represent her that morning, he was told that she was not present.  Meanwhile, Camille was brought before a new judge, Hon. Vonda R. Evans, instead of the judge (Hon. Bryan H. Levy) who had heard her case and sentenced her back in November and December.  Camille was then told she would not be allowed to consult with her attorney.  Instead, oddly, the court assigned a court-appointed attorney to her for that appearance.

While in the courtroom, Camille was shown paperwork describing her apparent “violation of probation” (VOP) which showed that University of Florida Police Department (UFPD) detective Jeff Moran initiated the report of the charge.  This violation is called a “technical violation.”

What occurred was the UFPD discovered one instance of an old NIO video that had been posted to a You Tube account by other parties back when Camille was in jail. Because Camille had not registered that You Tube account, she was unaware that the video existed on that channel.  As soon as she was made aware of this, she removed the video.

Please note, the University of Florida (UF) has supposedly nothing to do with Camille’s case in Detroit, yet they take it upon themselves to task their detective to locate a technical violation they can pin on Camille.

Camille pled “not guilty” to the VOP.  Then, Judge Vonda Evans stated that Camille is being held on $100,000 bond, because she is a “flight risk,” an interesting assessment of an individual who has never missed a single court date or probation appointment.

Camille Marino’s hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, June 18, at 9am in Judge Vonda Evans courtroom.  There will be no trial.  The judge will decide the matter herself.

Camille Marino is the Founder and Director of NIO Florida.  After being arrested in Florida and extradited to Michigan, she has been brought to Wayne County Jail.  At the moment, she has no pencil, paper or envelope to write back to anyone.  But, when you are locked up in jail, receiving mail is the high point of the day.

Camille Marino

2013013290

570 Clinton Street

Detroit MI 48226

Please send a donation via PayPal to help Camille.

Aerosmith's Joe Perry and Steven Tyler join forces with Sea Shepherd for the oceans | Aerosmith News | AeroForceOne

Aerosmith's Joe Perry and Steven Tyler join forces with Sea Shepherd for the oceans | Aerosmith News | AeroForceOne

11-Jun-13 Aerosmith's Joe Perry and Steven Tyler join forces with Sea Shepherd for the oceans Sea Shepherd "Freedom Fighters" honour Joe Perry and Steven Tyler on board Sea Shepherd fleet in Melbourne Recently, Sea Shepherd crew were honoured to host two of rock's greatest legends, Aerosmith's Joe Perry and Steven Tyler on board Sea Shepherd's fleet in Williamstown, Melbourne, Australia. Steven and Joe were treated to an in depth tour of three of Sea Shepherd's ships, the Sam Simon, Bob Barker and Steve Irwin, currently docked in Sea Shepherd's new ships operations base. The crew  swapped various campaign and marine conservation topics over lunch with Steven and Joe, which followed an experience in one of Sea Shepherd's fast boats used to pursue the illegal Japanese harpoon whale poaching ships. Bob Barker ships manager, Andrea Gordon stated, "Having Steven and Joe on board was such an uplifting experience for the crew after Operation Zero Tolerance. Our crew were touched by their words of encouragement, passion and support for the work Sea Shepherd does.  By selflessly speaking up for marine species, they're shining a much needed spotlight on the serious state of the oceans.” Steven Tyler stated, "Oceans and water is uncharted territory for human beings, they don’t even know the beauty underneath there with a mask and a snorkel, I mean, very few do, it's certainly getting fished to death. The waters in Lake Sunapee, way up in New England are now depleted, the frogs are going, honey bees are going. I was just fortunate enough to just buy a house in Maui and the reefs out in front of my house, I live on Ahihi Bay, which is a fish sanctuary, and the reefs are going away.  It's a very delicate ecosystem, you know, once a little bit goes awry, it all does, it's all connected." Joe Perry stated, "I always heard about Malibu and all the movie stars that live out there and I found out you’ve got to get a tetanus shot if you go swimming in it. You know, it's pretty screwed up. The laws are in place, but as we know, most of the governments are run by the big business. There is not enough money in it for different countries to send police out for whales and fish. When it starts to hit them in the pocket book, then maybe they will do something, but right now it's up to guys like you, who are true vigilantes, you take the bull by the horns and do it and come what may and you put your lives in danger and for something you believe in. I just wrote a song about one man freedom fighters is another mans terrorist and you guys are freedom fighters and it's great to know you and we will help with your work as much as we can." On Saturday 4th May, the whole Sea Shepherd crew were invited as VIPs to come and see Aerosmith perform at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne. The Melbourne gig was part of their environmentally themed 'Global Warming tour'. There was a hint that something special was planned for the Sea Shepherd crew. Well, Aerosmith did not disappoint with a performance that brought the house down. Steven Tyler and Joe's stage presence was absolutely brilliant, they are born entertainers.The highlight however was the just prior to the song "Living on the Edge" Steven Tyler stated that he and Joe had one of the most amazing experiences during the week by visiting the Sea Shepherd fleet and crew in Melbourne and that he wanted all the crowd to remember the name, "Sea Shepherd!". Then up on the big screen to the 15,000 plus capacity, came a video put together by Aerosmith, showing Steven and Joe's visit to the Sea Shepherd fleet. Steven yelled "where is my Sea Shepherds" as he pointed over to our group with the spotlight to follow, as the song kicked off to the roar of the crowd and the Sea Shepherd crew punched the air with excitement. Australian Director, Jeff Hansen stated, "To have two world renowned, amazing artists whose spare time is very limited, come and show their support for Sea Shepherd is a very humbling experience, that all of us at Sea Shepherd are very appreciative of and will never forget.  Joe labeled our Sea Shepherd team as Freedom Fighters, a title that we proudly accept, fighting for the freedom of the whales in defence of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary and all our precious marine life for the benefit of future generations. In the short time that I got to spend with both Joe and Steven, I was very impressed by their knowledge on a range of issues regarding marine conservation. We cannot wait to have them both back on board again soon and hopefully next time, with Sea Shepherd founder, Captain Paul Watson. RSS   Translate:

Draconia Vulgaris

Draconia Vulgaris

Dracunculus Vulgaris, Dragon Flower, Dragon Arum, Voodoo Lily, Black Lily

I can tell you this...flies are attracted to it. I had to shoo them away to take the photos. It smells like dead fish on the beach. Earlier in the day, the flower wasn't drooping as much and was open like an alligator's mouth. The bloom should last three days.

Read more about this unusual Asian flower: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2034/#ixzz2VkbJGPD5

Negotiation Is Over: We Don’t Acquiesce and We Don’t Negotiate with Scum

We Don’t Acquiesce and We Don’t Negotiate with Scum

Posted by Negotiation Is Over on June 5, 2013

By Camille Marino

Sumter County Jail, May 30, 2013

(received in the mail on June 5)

On November 19, 2012, I pleaded guilty to misdemeanor trespass and “posting a message” – an obscure felony that I am the only person to have ever been charged with or convicted of in the state of Michigan.  I served six months in the Wayne County Jail system and am on probation until December 5, 2015.  Judge Bryan Levy added a handwritten caveat to my paperwork which states that any probation violation will result in a prison term of 18 months to 5 years.

Irrespective of the fact that these charges represent the entirety of my lifelong criminal history, my records of Dickerson Detention Facility reflected that I was being held for the “assaultive” offense of aggravated stalking. (I was allowed sporadic access to their computers by supporters within the jail and saw exactly what was in their system.)

Since my actual charges were non-violent, and I was a model prisoner, this was the only manner in which they could deny me “program time,” which, under Michigan law, would have forced them to release me in 6 – 8 weeks.  I was made to serve every last hour of my sentence.  While I am told that my records have been altered since my release on March 9 to simply reflect “trespass,” Chief Jeriel Heard has never replied to any of our demands for an explanation or accountability.

Before I took my plea in November, in an astounding display of cowardice and treason, my former colleague, Dr. Steve Best, not only refused to testify at my trial, but then turned to the state and swore under oath that I was a “terrorist” as he defended the vivisectors who were prosecuting me.  Simultaneously, he sent out a bunch of rabid internet chuckleheads to slander me for being a “fraud” online.

Up until today, I have stayed above this spectacle and never asked a single person to choose sides.  But now that Best and associates held the door wide open for COINTELPRO to walk through, these people need to be identified openly and negated by every activist who remains loyal to the animals.

About 3 weeks ago, as a condition of my probation, which was transferred to Florida (my state of domicile), it was determined that I have no substance abuse issues, and therefore, require no intervention or treatment.  On that paperwork, it reflected my conviction for “posting a message” in Michigan was translated to “fraud by wire” in Florida.

While I learned of this bit of information inadvertently, it is no coincidence that pockets of online detractors have spread malignant lies about me being a “fraud” and now the vivisection-state complex has picked up on it and is accidentally-on-purpose also crying “fraud” on public interstate records and in their media.

If it is not now clear that Dr. Steve Best and his minions are the best friend of the state and the sworn enemy of the animals and the movement, then it never will be.  Gossip is a disease and those carrying it must be shunned to avoid any other activist being contaminated by this plague.  Now I will join every other political prisoner – past and present – with whom I am associated and simply blot this hypocrite out of history.  His name is no longer recognized by those of us on the front lines.

In October of 2010, the University of Florida refused to honor my open records request and disclose their veterinary records documenting decades of barbaric and gratuitous experiments on monkeys.  This business, funded by taxpayers, as well as egregious violations of the Animal Welfare Act, incompetence, and neglect, came to light when I won my first lawsuit on December 30, 2011 and began publishing their records.  Until this point, UF withheld this information and remained in active noncompliance with Florida law for 14 months.

Over the next 5 weeks, UF put the repression apparatus in motion to neutralize my victory, silence me, shut down my campaign and maintain their lucrative vivisection industry.  In January 2012, UF vivisector Raymond Joseph Bergeron swore to a complaint in Alachua County that I personally contacted him and threatened to burn down his house with him and his wife, Kathy, inside.

Separately, on February 4, 2012, at an anti-viv demo for one of their victims, UF orchestrated my arrest and extradition to Michigan to face charges for another anti-viv campaign at Wayne State University.  It is for that campaign that I ultimately served six months and am currently on probation.

Based upon Bergeron’s fraudulent complaint, the FDLE raided my home last June 19 and seized all of my computers, laptops, disks, drives, cds, ipods, cell phones and personal papers.

After 11 months, Officer Jeffrey Vash, who led the raid, informed me that investigators found absolutely nothing for which they could prosecute me in Florida.  Of course they couldn’t.  Bergeron lied!  And, even though UF had the state legislature amend the stalking laws in Florida effective October 1, 2012, to criminalize parts of my campaign (i.e. “The NIO Laws”), I’ve steered clear of this obstacle thus far.  Officer Vash said he was releasing that which was seized.

When I went to pick up my property from Vash last Wednesday, May 22, he informed me that he has nothing to prosecute me with yet.  But he told me that because of certain info I had on my hard drive, in conjunction with the fact that I wrote a fictional story, “The Animal Warfare Act,” in which I named a character “Richard Bergero,” who drove a BMW, he planned to have me indicted on terrorism charges eventually.  Then he told me that if I recorded his little diatribe, he would charge me with some other contrived offense.  I only wish I had thought to record it.

Then, as I was about to leave the Sheriff’s office, he placed me under arrest for a violation of my probation.

I am now once again in jail in Florida awaiting extradition to Michigan.  My lawyer and I have been trying to find out what my alleged probation violation is since I learned of it last month.  My probation officer in Florida doesn’t even have any idea what’s going on.  All we know for sure is that a UFPD detective – I believe Jeff Moran – sent an email to my Detroit probation officer to violate me and revoke my probation, and it was done.  They’ve refused to provide my lawyer with proof of anything for 5 weeks now.

In fact, my Detroit probation officer told my lawyer, Matt Savich, that she has not even seen the evidence.  She simply took UF’s word for it and here we are.

While I have complied in good faith with every restriction placed upon me by both Florida and Michigan, this is apparently irrelevant and inconsequential.  The University of Florida is determined to neutralize me and the vivisection-state complex is hell-bent on breaking me – in conjunction with insidious elements in our own movement – and making an example out of me.

But only I have the power to demonstrate the example I choose to be!  I am proud of every action I have ever taken to defend victimized animals and expose their abusers.  I openly broke unjust laws and I served my time with dignity.

At this point, it appears likely that, with an entire system in place to crush me, I will be sent to prison despite the fact that I have made every effort to comply with their rules.  I will never say, “It’s not fair.”  The only condition that is unfair is that the animals are entombed in a manmade hell, being blinded, injected, drugged, tormented, driven insane and maimed.

I’ll live through this — they won’t.

The only relevance my situation holds for the animals is how we as a movement interpret it and use it to push forward.  The repression apparatus is bearing down on me for no other reason than that I, along with the radicalized factions of our community, represent a significant threat.  We represent an imminent end to industrial abusers’ ability to continue to torture and dispatch their commodified victims in peace and anonymity.

In terms of going forward, all I want to say right now is that a series of contingencies have been put in place to ensure that the NIO community continues to grow in size, strength and single-minded fanaticism to achieve Animal Liberation at all costs.

We don’t acquiesce.

And we don’t negotiate with scum!

Camille Marino is the Founder and Director of NIO Florida.  FDLE arrested her on May 22, 2013 and placed her in the Sumter County Detention Center to await extradition to Detroit on charges that she violated probation.  Sometime on the night of June 3, 2013, the extradition began, so it is currently not known where she is as of this posting.  Transporting prisoners can take many days, weeks and months.  It is expected she is being taken to either the Wayne County Jail or Dickerson Detention Center.

Please send a donation via PayPal to help Camille.

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