VIDEO: Woman says federal grand jury probing UI lab break-in

A Minneapolis woman says she was called to testify this month before a federal grand jury in Iowa that she believes is looking into an animal-rights related break-in and vandalism at the University of Iowa five years ago.

Carrie Feldman, 20, blogged online about her subpoena and subsequent appearance before a grand jury in Davenport on Oct. 15.

Feldman, an animal-rights activist, read a statement to the grand jury stating her decision to not testify. She was released, with a subpoena to reappear before the grand jury at 9 a.m. Nov. 17.

Grand juries deliberate in private and determine if evidence is sufficient for charges to be filed for trial. Grand juries release no information about deliberations.

But Feldman believes the grand jury in this case is looking into the November 2004 break-in at UI's Seashore Hall and Spence Laboratories.

Carrie Feldman appears to have started a blog regarding her appearance before the grand jury. Read her statement and her plans for the Nov. 17 appearance here.

The FBI continues to investigate that incident, which UI officials said caused about $450,000 in damage to lab equipment and the theft of more than 400 rodents used in research by the psychology department. Activists stating affiliation with the Animal Liberation Front claimed credit for the incident.

Feldman, in an e-mail to The Gazette, said she was not told why she was subpoenaed by the grand jury or what the panel is investigating. But questions from jury members and the prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Clifford R. Cronk, led her to believe the jury is investigating the UI incident, she said.

Feldman said she was a 15-year-old high school sophomore in Minneapolis at the time of the UI break-in, and her school attendance records have been sought by federal officials.

“The assertion by the prosecutor that I may be a target of this investigation is ridiculous,” she wrote in the e-mail. “I believe that I am being targeted because of my political activity and beliefs, not my involvement in any crime.”

Feldman said her appearance before the grand jury in Davenport was her first time in Iowa, other than driving through with her family as a child.

University of Iowa police said the lab break-in is still an active investigation and referred comments to the FBI. Carrie Sawicki, a spokeswoman with the FBI's Omaha, Neb., office, said officials cannot comment on the UI incident because it is an ongoing investigation.

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Video from the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) at the Spence Lab:

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