Anti-GMO activist denies call for violence against journalists; and more names are added to target list.

An anti-GMO activist who compared some journalists and publishers to Nazis and called for the “killing of those engaged in heinous crimes against humanity” says he has never condoned vigilante violence, and that such charges are an attempt by the biotech industry to discredit critics of genetically engineered foods.

In a post yesterday, I reported that Mike Adams, who describes himself as an “activist-turned-scientist,” wrote that some reporters and publishers were “Monsanto collaborators” guilty of “heinous crimes against humanity,” and that we have a “moral right” to “actively plan and carry out the killing of those engaged in heinous crimes.”

His post, on his Natural News website, now contains this update, which I quote in part:

After careful analysis, I have come to the conclusion that the Monsanto Collaborators website is a bait-and-switch trap engineered by the biotech industry in an effort to lure in support from GMO skeptics and then discredit them with some sort of insane “call to action” of some kind…Because of this, I am recommending that members of the GMO skeptics community refrain from linking to or endorsing the Monsanto Collaborators website.

…I have always stated in this story, as you can see below: “For the record, in no way do I condone vigilante violence against anyone, and I believe every condemned criminal deserves a fair trial and a punishment that fits the crime. Do not misinterpret this article as any sort of call for violence, as I wholly disavow any such actions. I am a person who demands due process under the law for all those accused of crimes.”

The Monsanto collaborators website appears to be allied with Adams. He wrote that it was launched by “someone” who “appears to be inspired by a suggestion” from his post. I emailed Adams asking whether he was involved with the site, but he hasn’t replied.

At the same time that Adams was denying any involved with the site or with vigilante action against journalists, several more journalists’ names were added to the target list on the Monsanto collaborators site.

-Paul Raeburn