Chris Christie’s Speech Interrupted by Animal Activists

Two protesters from Direct Action Everywhere climbed onstage Saturday during New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s speech in Iowa while chanting, “Animals want to live.” The duo also held a banner with an image of a pig in a gestation crate that read, “Governor Christie and Iowa—stop exploiting animals. It’s not food, it’s violence” before being removed from the venue by an Iowa State Trooper. A third activist hopped onstage as well with a sign that read, “Until every animal is free.” This action stems from Christie vetoing a 2013 bill that aimed to eliminate the use of gestation crates—solitary pens that prohibit sows from turning around—in his state. The presidential hopeful told the crowd in Iowa (the nation’s top producer of hogs), “I believe that farmers should be able to make decisions about how best to raise their livestock, not government bureaucrats. I vetoed that bill twice in New Jersey, and if it comes to my desk again, I’ll veto it again.”