A Utah jury found that two animal activists accused of stealing two piglets from Smithfield Foods’ Circle Four Farms in March 2017 were not guilty.
The accused men, members of the animal activist group Direct Action Everywhere, claimed they did not steal anything of value because the pigs were sick and likely to die.
The two activists faced up to five-and-a-half years in jail if they had been found guilty.
Members of the activist group ran onto the Los Angeles Rams’ field during an NFL game on two separate occasions this fall to spread awareness about the trial.
The members ran onto the field with smoke flares while wearing T-shirts that bore the name of a website intended to “Help the whistleblowers facing prison time for exposing factory farm abuses and rescuing suffering animals.”
On the second occasion, Los Angeles Rams linebacker Bobby Wagner tackled one of the activists on the field, who has now filed an assault complaint against the player.
