The University of California, Los Angeles has filed a lawsuit against animal rights activists, including one former UCSB student, for allegedly harassing faculty and administrators associated with animal research.

The lawsuit, filed on Feb. 21, names three groups and five individuals, including former UCSB student Kevin Olliff, as defendants in the case. Following a hearing, a judge also issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting the defendants from having any contact with the UCLA employees.

The suit seeks a permanent injunction against the defendants and alleges they have advocated and aided unlawful actions against UCLA employees. The lawsuit follows a series of incidents since 2006, including three occasions in which UCLA researchers discovered strange apparatuses in front of their homes that resembled Molotov cocktails.

Additionally, the lawsuit accuses the activists of vandalizing researchers’ homes and appearing at their residences in the middle of the night to shout threats. In one case, a faculty member also received a package rigged with razor blades.

The defendants include groups such as the UCLA Primate Freedom Project, the Animal Liberation Front and the Animal Liberation Brigade, as well as several individuals alleged to have connections with these organizations like Linda Faith Greene, Hillary Roney, Ramin Saber, Tim Rusmisel and Olliff, who attended UCSB in Fall 2007.

Print