Industry foe charged under Iowa's new food trespassing law

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — An animal rights activist whose investigations and pranks have made him a leading foe of the livestock industry has been charged with trespassing at a pig facility, in the first case brought under Iowa’s latest law aimed at protecting farming operations from intruders.

Matthew Johnson, 35, is charged with trespassing at a food operation for his presence Feb. 5 outside an Iowa Select Farms sow operation in Dows, 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of Des Moines.

Investigators say surveillance video captured Johnson approach one of the buildings and try to pull a door to determine if it was locked before running away. Iowa Select Farms, one of the nation’s largest pork producers, turned over the footage to the Wright County sheriff’s office, and Johnson was charged last month.

Under the so-called ag-gag law signed by Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds in June, trespassing at a food operation is an aggravated misdemeanor that carries up to two years in prison and a $8,540 fine. A second offense is a felony that carries up to five years behind bars. Those are far harsher penalties than trespassing elsewhere, a simple misdemeanor that carries up to 30 days in jail and a $855 fine.

Johnson said Thursday that he was at the site filming videos for social media and trying to check on animals that “are living lives of horrific suffering" but that he never went inside any building. Separately, he is awaiting trial on burglary and electronic eavesdropping charges for allegedly entering the same facility on May 25, 2020, leaving recording equipment and taking a piglet that he said he rescued from slaughter.

Lawmakers say they increased the penalties for trespassing at livestock operations to protect farmers from harassment and deter intrusions that threaten the safety of the state’s multibillion-dollar...