Animal rights activist Matthew Johnson with the group Direct Action Everywhere has been charged with trespassing at a food operation for his Feb. 5 presence outside an Iowa Select Farms sow operation in Dows, Iowa.
Investigators say surveillance video captured Johnson approach one of the buildings and attempt to open the door to determine if it was locked before running away, the Associated Press reports. Iowa Select Farms turned the footage over to the Wright County sheriff’s office and Johnson was charged last month.
Under the ag-gag law signed by Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds, trespassing at a food operation is an aggravated misdemeanor that carries up to two years in prison and a $8,540 fine, KCCI Des Moines reports. A second offense is a felony that can carry up to five years in prison.
Johnson claimed that he was at the site filming video for social media and trying to check on the animals, but never went inside any building, the article said. He is also awaiting trial on burglary and electronic eavesdropping charges for allegedly entering the same facility on May 25, 2020, installing recording equipment and taking a piglet that he said he rescued from slaughter, KCCI reports.
Two Iowa laws passed in 2021 and 2019 targeting undercover livestock investigations have been put on hold amid legal challenges. The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to rule soon on a federal judge’s decision that the initial law was unconstitutional because it criminalized protected speech, KCCI reports.
In the meantime, Iowa lawmakers moved this week to enhance penalties for people who place surveillance equipment while trespassing and who take unauthorized samples from livestock for disease testing. KCCI reports that the governor could sign the bill into law soon.
More from Farm Journal’s PORK:
Reynolds Signs Ag Trespass Bill in Iowa
Charges Dropped Against Animal Rights Activist Who Trespassed at Iowa Select Farms
