UPDATE, 7:00 PM ET Saturday: The women have been released from custody on misdemeanor trespass charges, as well as a graffiti citation for Emek Echo.
LIVE PRESS RELEASE at DxE.io/PressRelease will be updated continually as new information and photo/video content are received.
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Contact: Matt Johnson, (319) 464-5985, matt@directactioneverywhere.com
Bills-Rams Game Disrupted as Animal Activists Run on Field, Deploy Smoke Flares Ahead of Piglet Rescuer Trial
Same group similarly disrupted Nathan’s July 4th eating contest to publicize October trial of factory farm piglet rescuers
(Credit: Direct Action Everywhere)
The protesters run on the field at Sofi Stadium (Credit: Direct Action Everywhere)
SEPTEMBER 8, LOS ANGELES, CA - Two women with the grassroots animal rights network Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) seeking to highlight an upcoming trial of Smithfield Foods factory farm whistleblowers ran onto the field during the fourth quarter of the Bills/Rams NFL season opener. Emek Echo and Katia Shokrai ran across the field holding up red smoke flares and wearing shirts with “RIGHTTORESCUE.COM” text, before being removed by event security.
The live press release at DxE.io/PressRelease will be updated as information on their status and any charges is received.
The protest aims to shine a light on what DxE calls a landmark trial for animal rights, food justice and free speech, and more broadly, on the entire animal agricultural industry, which DxE says is inherently abusive and exploitative.
DxE investigators Paul Darwin Picklesimer and Wayne Hsiung rescued two sick piglets from Circle Four and documented dead and diseased piglets languishing in their mother’s feces and injured adult pigs physically unable to stand (VIDEO). Picklesimer and Hsiung were subsequently charged with multiple felonies following FBI raids of farm animal sanctuaries in a nationwide “pig hunt.” Their trial is set to begin October 3 in St. George, Utah.
Hours earlier, Judge Jeffrey Wilcox, who is presiding over the case, ruled to keep jurors at the trial anonymous. It’s a move typically reserved for cases involving violent organized crime, having only ever occurred once previously in the state. DxE says it’s the latest example of a troubling pattern of repression via a justice system that has been weaponized by powerful political interests such as Smithfield, and is at odds with the public’s interest in transparency and due process.
DxE says Smithfield, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Chinese conglomerate WH Group, routinely compromises worker safety, public health and animal welfare. DxE previously released investigations of Smithfield factory farms in California, Utah and North Carolina.
“Smithfield, like the animal agriculture industry itself, is a barbaric house of cards -- built on unconscionable, systemic abuse, and desperate attempts to shield that abuse from the public eye,” said Shokrai. “I want the world to know that animal rescuers are facing years in prison because of this company’s undue influence on our democracy.”
DxE is calling on leaders in both the industry and government sectors to take bold action for a more just food system, including transitioning away from animal agriculture.
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Investigators with Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) enter farms, slaughterhouses, and other agricultural facilities to document abuses, and to rescue sick and injured animals. DxE’s investigatory work has been featured in The New York Times, ABC Nightline, Current Affairs and a brutal mass pig killing exposé. DxE activists have been subjected to FBI raids and felony prosecutions for their investigative work. The group led the 2019 grassroots effort to ban fur products in California and the 2021 effort to transition Berkeley, California city purchases to 100% plant based foods. Visit DxE on Facebook, Twitter and at directactioneverywhere.com.
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