Prosecutors Drop Charges Against Berkeley Activist Who Exposed Iowa Hog Deaths

CBS San Francisco

January 29, 2021

BERKELEY (CBS SF/AP) — Prosecutors in Iowa dropped trespassing charges this week against an activist who helped secretly record Iowa’s largest pork producer using heat to kill thousands of hogs last year as the pandemic devastated the industry.

Matt Johnson, an activist with the group Direct Action Everywhere, had been scheduled to stand trial in Grundy County, Iowa, on Monday on two counts of trespassing at Iowa Select Farms properties in May.

County prosecutors moved to dismiss the charges Thursday at the request of Iowa Select, whose personnel had been subpoenaed but said they didn’t wish to testify, court documents show.

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