Camille Marino arrested at Florida demo

Camille Marino, founder of the Florida-based animal rights organisation Negotiation Is Over (NIO), has been arrested with fellow campaigner Lisa Grossman at a demo against the University of Florida’s use of primates in research.

Camille Marino was arrested on an out-of-state warrant for criminal contempt having ignored a Michigan judge’s order to remove a researcher’s personal details from the NIO website. She is being held at Alachua County Jail for extradition to Michigan, and will be ordered to pay the researcher’s legal fees of $6,281. Lisa Grossman is being charged with presenting the police with a suspended driver’s licence.

Marino recently sued UF for its apparent failure to provide public records on primate research, leading to an order last month by an Alachua County Circuit Court judge for their release.

A recent NIO campaign saw the group offering money for the contact details of UF biomedical students who were then subjected to a barrage of intimidation. In an article posted on the NIO website in March last year, Marino wrote:

“Aspiring scientists envision curing cancer at the Mayo Clinic. We need to impart a new vision: car bombs, 24/7 security cameras, embarrassing home demonstrations, threats, injuries, and fear. And, of course, these students need to realize that any personal risk they are willing to assume will also be visited upon their parents, children, and nearest & dearest loved ones.”

In an interview with blogger Rhys Southand last June, Marino implied that she would condone suicide attacks against researchers:

“I can tell you that some activists have expressed to me a desire to end their lives because they are so overwhelmed and frustrated. My only response is that if one is going to end their own suffering, it would be an admirable act if they took as many abusers as possible with them,” she said.

Recently, there have been signs that the UK’s Luke Steele and NAVA are trying to form an alliance with Marino and NIO.