Here is a link to an article by Stephanie Cash entitled “Artist Ensnared by Patriot Act”. Here. You can read the ongoing story.
So from what I understand from reading this story, is that this art professor wanted to set up a piece of “performance art” whereby people could use lab equipment and two bacterial strains commonly found in High School biology labs…material that the government itself has admitted is harmless, and cannot be weaponized, and equipment that could not be used to weaponize even originally harmful material.
Then, he woke up one morning, and found his wife had died in the night of a cardiac arrest, so he called 911…and next thing he knows, he’s under arrest. His wife’s body is seized as “evidence”, his home is condemned as a health hazard, and all of his possessions, including the material, equipment, and computers seized as well...he was arrested, and held without charges under suspicion of bioterrorism.
Now, he and the biology professor who ordered the material for him, are being charged with “wire fraud”…as far as I can tell, simply because the biologist ordered the material on his behalf. I’ve not seen any indication that anyone was actually defrauded. So be careful if you order a computer, or a book on cryptography, or any chemical or biological substances online for a friend or relative who just doesn’t own a credit card.
Even if they are harmless (like the bacteria people use to put in standing water to neutralize mosquito larvae, for instance…or fertilizer for their garden)… you could end up arrested, losing your property, having to report weekly for urinealysis drug testing, and having your savings completely obliterated defending yourself from spurious charges.
This art professor has since regained possession of his wife’s body, and his home…but none of the other possessions seized have been returned. Presumably, they are being held as “evidence”.
As of Jan. 23, 2005, Dr. Kurtz has still not had his public hearing, which has been postponed numerous times…most recently moved from Jan. 11 to March 2. Since the arrest happened on May 11th, 2004 you would think that the government could conclude their “investigation” of a simple wire-fraud case in less than a year.
There are a lot of questions about this case…mainly…why is the government wasting resources and energy persecuting an artist? Some say, it’s because they have to save face…they have to convict him of SOMETHING…and they’re doing what it takes to give some legitimacy to their actions. Others say that it’s because the performance art piece was designed to draw attention to genetically modified organisms cross-pollinating with food crops and the organization that Dr. Kurtz Is a founding member of also draws attention to the history of biological warfare…including America’s participation in it.
Whatever their reasons, it seems clear that this is a case worth watching, and worth not letting go of. This is exactly what they promised us would not happen under the Partiot Act, and this is exactly the kind of thing numerous voices that were dismissed as “paranoid crackpots” said would happen.