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Animal rights activists allege violations of First Amendment rights in a federal civil rights lawsuit<\/em><\/p>\n WHEN<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Wednesday, October 12th, 9:00am Conctact<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jeremy Beckham, jeremy@uarc.io<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Salt Lake City, Utah \u2014\u00a0<\/em>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\u00a0landmark acquittal<\/a>\u00a0in last week\u2019s \u201cSmithfield piglet rescue\u201d trial, but this time they will be on the offensive. In conjunction with the Utah Animal Rights Coalition (UARC) and three individuals, DxE has\u00a0filed a federal civil rights lawsuit<\/a>\u00a0against Beaver County alleging that its police officers violated the First Amendment when they \u201cthreatened, harassed, and ultimately expelled\u201d\u00a0\u00a0activists for attempting to conduct peaceful outreach to members of the public attending Pioneer Day festivities.\u00a0Footage from the interactions<\/a>\u00a0that day has garnered close to two million views online and caused so much public outrage that Beaver County Sheriff\u2019s Office has\u00a0taken down its Facebook page<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cLast week\u2019s acquittal proves that we will proudly & fiercely defend our legal rights to rescue animals and speak out on their behalf,\u201d said Hsiung. \u201cSmithfield 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Wednesday\u2019s hearing will likely have a familiar line-up of faces, including Beaver County District Attorney Von Christiansen,\u00a0Beaver County Sheriff Cameron Noel, and Sergeant Woolsey, all of whom played key roles in the state\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Tomorrow\u2019s hearing will be conducted & broadcast via Zoom. Watch at uarc.io\/BeaverLawsuit<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Photographs and video from inside Smithfield\u2019s Circle Four Farms are available upon request, as are complete video clips of interactions with Beaver County Sheriffs.\u00a0<\/em>
WHERE<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Courtroom of U.S. District Court Judge Jill Parrish\u00a0VIA ZOOM \u2013 uarc.io\/BeaverLawsuit<\/a><\/u><\/strong>
WHAT<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Direct Action Everywhere, UARC v. Beaver County<\/p>\n
Matt Johnson, \u00a0matt@dxe.io<\/a><\/p>\n
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