U.S. to Use 1872 Law Against Greenpeace

[MDM4AU 337]

MIAMI (AP) - When the wave-tossed Greenpeace activists boarded a container ship off Miami Beach two years ago, they didn't know it could lead to prosecution under a 132-year-old law aimed at keeping boarding houses from luring sailors to shore.

In a tactic the group has often used to make a point, the activists attempted to unfurl a large banner on the ship to protest what they saw as the Bush administration's inaction on a ban on Amazon mahogany imports.

In a trial starting Monday, federal prosecutors will dust off an 1872 law aimed at preventing "sailor mongering" to seek the first conviction of an advocacy group over its protest techniques.

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