Animal rights activists allege violations of First Amendment rights in a federal civil rights lawsuit
WHEN: Wednesday, October 12th, 9:00am
WHERE: Courtroom of U.S. District Court Judge Jill Parrish VIA ZOOM – uarc.io/BeaverLawsuit
WHAT: Direct Action Everywhere, UARC v. Beaver County
Conctact: Jeremy Beckham, jeremy@uarc.io
Matt Johnson, matt@dxe.io
Salt Lake City, Utah — On Wednesday, October 12, 2022, at 9:00 am, Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) and its co-founder Wayne Hsiung will be back in in court, following a landmark acquittal in last week’s “Smithfield piglet rescue” trial, but this time they will be on the offensive. In conjunction with the Utah Animal Rights Coalition (UARC) and three individuals, DxE has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Beaver County alleging that its police officers violated the First Amendment when they “threatened, harassed, and ultimately expelled” activists for attempting to conduct peaceful outreach to members of the public attending Pioneer Day festivities. Footage from the interactions that day has garnered close to two million views online and caused so much public outrage that Beaver County Sheriff’s Office has taken down its Facebook page.
“Last week’s acquittal proves that we will proudly & fiercely defend our legal rights to rescue animals and speak out on their behalf,” said Hsiung. “Smithfield and the authorities are trying to intimidate us into silence, because they know if the public learned the truth about how pigs were treated on factory farms they would be horrified and demand change.”
Wednesday’s hearing will likely have a familiar line-up of faces, including Beaver County District Attorney Von Christiansen, Beaver County Sheriff Cameron Noel, and Sergeant Woolsey, all of whom played key roles in the state’s unsuccessful criminal prosecution for the piglet rescue. Salt Lake City civil rights attorney Karra Porter is representing the plaintiffs in federal court on Wednesday, where Judge Jill Parrish will decide whether to grant a preliminary injunction against Beaver County and its officers. The plaintiffs argue the injunction is necessary to allow them to return to Beaver County to exercise their First Amendment rights without fear of retaliation and violence.
Tomorrow’s hearing will be conducted & broadcast via Zoom. Watch at uarc.io/BeaverLawsuit
Photographs and video from inside Smithfield’s Circle Four Farms are available upon request, as are complete video clips of interactions with Beaver County Sheriffs.
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