Six animal rights terrorists pleaded not guilty to charges that they stalked an insurance company executive and threatened to burn his home to the ground.

The activists, who are allegedly linked to the animal rights group Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC), have been charged with harassment, conspiracy, attempted extortion and threatening to burn a dwelling. They recently pleaded innocent in Suffolk Superior Court.

The accused allegedly spent five months harassing a Boston businessman and his family. They believed his employer, Marsh USA, helped sell insurance to Huntingdon Life Science (HLS), a company that tests products on animals. The activists wanted to intimidate the victim’s employer into refusing insurance brokerage business relating to HLS.

Investigators charged that the animal rights terrorists had gathered at the employee’s home and chanted phrases like, "what comes around, goes around...burn his house to the ground," through a megaphone. They are also accused of vandalizing the building with red paint and the sidewalks with red wax, making references to the employee’s two-year-old son, and publicizing the employee’s family’s names on the group’s United States website. The victim was allegedly told he would have to quit his job for the threats to stop.

"They began a campaign of harassment that escalated to threats, stalking and extortion," said prosecutor Philip McGovern.

Six protestors were arraigned, and two other protestors did not appear before the court because they are already in jail in New York on similar charges.