Direct Action Everywhere

DxE was founded in 2013 in the United States by a handful of people in the San Francisco Bay Area who decided to protest inside restaurants and stores, rather than outside, which was more typical of animal rights protests.{{cite web |url=http://directactioneverywhere.com/theliberationist/2014/4/8/why-dxe-brings-the-message-inside | title=Why DxE Brings the Message Inside | access-date=August 23, 2016}} DxE co-founder Wayne Hsiung investigated slaughterhouses for ten years prior to founding DxE with the goal of scaling up open rescue and other forms of non-violent direct action.{{cite web|url=http://www.animalcharityevaluators.org/resources/conversations-and-interviews/conversation-with-wayne-hsiung-direct-action-everywhere/|title=Conversation with Wayne Hsiung, Direct Action Everywhere|date=15 February 2016 |access-date=August 23, 2016}}

DxE's first action occurred in January 2013.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5wffvHafRY&x-yt-ts=1421914688&x-yt-cl=84503534 |via=YouTube |title=It Starts With You...|date=January 8, 2013|access-date=January 25, 2015}} Six activists demonstrated in front of a meat counter at a Sprouts Farmers Market, contending that the items being sold there behind the counter were not food but "the torment and suffering of billions of our friends in factory farms and slaughterhouses."

DxE continued organizing protests inside restaurants and stores, citing the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and ACT UP as influences.{{cite web |url=http://www.ourhenhouse.org/WayneHsiungEpisode245.pdf |website=Our Hen House |title=Interview with Wayne Hsiung |date=September 20, 2014 |access-date=September 5, 2016 |archive-date=January 15, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170115235237/http://www.ourhenhouse.org/WayneHsiungEpisode245.pdf |url-status=dead }} In August 2013, DxE activists organized the Los Angeles side of an international multi-city protest, The Earthlings March.{{cite news|url=http://www.dailynews.com/social-affairs/20130824/animal-rights-activists-march-in-downtown-la|title=Animal Rights Activists March in Downtown LA | last=Goff|first=Kelly|date=August 24, 2013|publisher=Los Angeles Daily News|access-date=September 5, 2016}} Approximately 40 cities and varied activist groups participated in the march.{{cite news|url=http://www.jpost.com/Enviro-Tech/Animal-activists-take-over-Tel-Avivs-Rothschild-Boulevard-324132|title=Animal Activists Take Over Tel Aviv's Rothschild Boulevard | last=Goff|first=Kelly|date=August 24, 2013|publisher=Los Angeles Daily News|access-date=September 5, 2016}}{{cite web |url=https://www.directactioneverywhere.com/theliberationist/2013-8-29-earthlings-around-the-world |title=Earthlings Around the World |last=Hsiung |first=Wayne |date=August 29, 2013 |website=Direct Action Everywhere |quote=In three weeks -- just three short weeks -- we mobilized thousands of activists, in 41 cities and 17 countries. }}

In October 2013, in response to a viral video produced by Chipotle called The Scarecrow, DxE organized in-store "die-ins" at three San Francisco Chipotle restaurants.{{cite web|url=tps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUtnas5ScSE |via=YouTube |title=The Scarecrow|date=September 11, 2013|access-date=September 5, 2016}}{{cite web |url=http://directactioneverywhere.com/theliberationist/2013/10/21/the-new-frontier | title=The New Frontier | access-date=September 5, 2016}} DxE argued that the ad, which advertised Chipotle's purported efforts to create a more natural and humane food system was "humanewashing", which animal rights activists describe as marketing efforts intended to disguise the inherent violence of using and killing animals for food.{{cite web |url=http://static1.squarespace.com/static/515cca87e4b0bca14d767b61/t/526304cfe4b0971963e4897d/1382221007692/2013.10.19+Killing+is+no+Kindness+Press+Release.pdf | title=Activists in Six Cities "Die-In" at Chipotle | access-date=September 5, 2016}} Within a few weeks, similar demonstrations were executed in Chicago, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Philadelphia. DxE responded by creating a platform for coordinated global days of action under the "It's Not Food, It's Violence" message.

DxE has continued with internationally coordinated monthly days of action. In addition to Chipotle, activists have also targeted other grocery stores, restaurants, clothing stores, zoos, circuses, and labs.{{cite news|url=https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2015/05/24/18772659.php | title=Animal Rights Protest in San Francisco | last=Boyer|first=D.|date=May 24, 2014|publisher=Indybay|access-date=September 5, 2016}}{{cite news|url=http://www.greenisthenewred.com/blog/utah-protest-prosecution/8521/ | title=BREAKING: 2 Animal Activists Facing 6 Months in Jail for Protesting on the Sidewalk | last=Potter|first=Will|date=August 20, 2015|publisher=Green Is The New Red|access-date=September 5, 2016}}{{cite news|url=http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Clowns-Brawl-With-Protesters-Under-Circus-Big-Top-San-Bernardino-300490891.html | title=Clowns Brawl With Protesters Under Circus Big Top in San Bernardino | last=Larkin|first=Michael|date=April 17, 2015|publisher=NBC Los Angeles|access-date=September 5, 2016}}{{cite news|url=http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2015/03/23/animal-rights-activists-protest-use-of-animals-in-yale-labs/ | title=Animal rights activists protest use of animals in Yale labs | last=Chua|first=Jun Yua|date=March 23, 2015|publisher=Yale Daily News|access-date=September 5, 2016}} The original actions were organized around the San Francisco Bay Area. By December 2014, DxE's network had grown to at least 90 cities in 20 countries.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4dkK3tI7X8 |via=YouTube | title=Stop the Violence – DxE December Day of Action | date=January 20, 2015 | access-date=January 25, 2015}}

DxE hosts an annual Animal Liberation Conference (ALC) for grassroots, peaceful animal rights activists.{{Cite web|url=https://www.plantbasednews.org/post/arrested-held-1-million-bond-vegan-activist|title='We Were Arrested And Held On $1 Million Bond' – A Vegan Activist Speaks Out|website=plantbasednews.org|date=27 February 2019|language=en|access-date=2019-03-04}} The ALC is a full week of talks, trainings, and socials all aimed at empowering activists.

DxE selected U.S.-based natural foods grocery store Whole Foods Market as the target of the investigation because the company is allegedly "actively shaping the public's view of animal agriculture with false marketing."{{cite web|url=http://directactioneverywhere.com/theliberationist/2014/12/2/why-whole-foods | title=Why Target Whole Foods?|access-date=September 20, 2016}}

The activists selected Certified Humane Whole Foods egg supplier Petaluma Farms in Petaluma, California, as the target of the initial investigation.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/09/business/direct-action-everywhere-video-of-laying-hens-raises-concerns.html|title=Animal Rights Group's Video of Hens Raises Questions, but Not Just for Farms|date=January 8, 2015|work=The New York Times|access-date=2015-01-12}} At one point, activists encountered a diseased hen who had collapsed and was struggling to breathe and removed her from the farm. They named her Mei Hua (Chinese for "beautiful flower") and made her recovery a centerpiece of the ensuing campaign and imagery.{{cite web|url=http://freefromharm.org/animal-cruelty-investigation/one-survivors-story-whole-foods-humane-hoax/ | title=One Survivor's Story|date=January 15, 2015|access-date=September 20, 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://www.petaluma360.com/news/3374941-181/activists-targeting-petalumafarmers|title=Activists Targeting Petaluma Farmers|last=Charrier|first=Emily|date=2015-01-15|access-date=2017-04-24|archive-date=2019-04-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408061604/https://www.petaluma360.com/news/3374941-181/activists-targeting-petalumafarmers|url-status=dead}} Another farm owned by the same company was later the subject of a similar video filmed by a former employee. When asked for comment about that particular break-in after DxE's release of their initial video, the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department stated that a full investigation was underway, but that the farm appeared to be performing at "industry standards".

DxE released a 19-minute video of the investigation, "Truth Matters", on YouTube and Facebook in January 2015 and received coverage in several international media outlets, including The New York Times and Mother Jones.{{cite news|url=https://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2015/01/you-cant-produce-eggs-industrial-scale-without-breaking-few-hens|title=What Does 'Cage Free' Even Mean?|date=January 14, 2015|work=Mother Jones|access-date=September 20, 2016}} For several weekends following the investigation, and every month thereafter through early 2016, DxE chapters in several dozen cities organized protests inside Whole Foods stores, challenging the company's "Values Matter" advertising campaign.{{cite news|url=http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/pets/Group-to-hold-Philly-protest-against-cruel-conditions-at-humane-egg-farm-.html|title=Group to protest Whole Foods over egg farm conditions|date=January 10, 2015|work=Philadelphia Daily News|access-date=September 20, 2016}}{{cite news|url=http://www.nhregister.com/article/NH/20150112/NEWS/150119864|title=Animal rights activists demonstrate at Whole Foods in Milford over egg supplier|date=January 12, 2015|publisher=New Haven Register|access-date=September 20, 2016}} Whole Foods announced new egg-laying standards shortly after the release of the investigation video.

Over the course of 2015, a larger team of activists investigated Diestel Turkey Ranch, one of only three companies, out of over 2,000, to achieve a 5+ rating on the 1–5 scale used by the Global Animal Partnership, Whole Foods's animal welfare rating scheme.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/11/24/whole-foods-thanksgiving-turkeys-endure-horrific-conditions-at-calif-farm-animal-rights-activists-say/|title=Whole Foods Thanksgiving turkeys endure 'horrific conditions' at Calif. farm, activists say|date=November 24, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=September 20, 2016}}{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/video-shows-abuse-at-whole-foods-turkey-supplier-activists-say-1448328713|title=Video Shows Abuse at Whole Foods Turkey Supplier, Activists Say|date=November 23, 2015|work=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=September 20, 2015}} Activists recorded video reportedly at a Diestel-owned farm in Jamestown, California, showing filth, overcrowding, and birds dying as infants.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byb8WjknZxw |via=YouTube | title=Where does Whole Foods turkey really come from? | date=November 23, 2015 | access-date=September 20, 2016}}

DxE released another investigation in November 2016 into Jaindl Farms, a Whole Foods farm that has supplied the White House with Thanksgiving turkeys since the 1960s rated in the 98th percentile of animal welfare according to an animal welfare audit.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2016/11/18/turkeys-supplied-to-white-house-are-raised-in-inhumane-conditions-activist-group-says/|title= Turkeys supplied to White House are raised in inhumane conditions, activist group says|date=November 18, 2016|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=November 30, 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://www.jaindl.com/about/ | title=Jaindl |access-date=November 30, 2016}} The activists released footage of birds with mutilated beaks, struggling to walk, and crowded to the point of repeated trampling. The video footage from the farm that DxE released shows birds with mangled beaks, broken legs, missing eyes, open sores and facial lesions. In one scene, turkeys peck and nibble at a young bird's festering wound. In another, a decaying carcass rests on the floor among live animals. Two Huffington Post reporters visited the farm on invitation of Jaindl's owner and found that while severe injuries were uncommon, some turkeys had visible sores.{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/jaindl-turkeys-white-house_us_582dbea7e4b030997bbda895|title= The Turkey Farm That Supplies The White House Says It's Humane. See For Yourself.|date=November 22, 2016|work=HuffPost|access-date=November 30, 2016}} In response to DxE's video, the group was accused of ecoterrorism by Jaindl's legal counsel in a letter to Wayne Hsiung, who also stated "This criminal activity fostered by your organization is reprehensible, and cannot be overlooked."

On May 29, 2018, several hundred DxE activists held a protest outside Cal Eggs Farm in Petaluma, California, which is a supplier to Whole Foods. Some of the activists entered a barn and carried out live and diseased birds. 40 of the activists were arrested for misdemeanor trespassing.{{Cite news|url=https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2018/05/29/animal-rights-activists-stage-huge-protest-at-petaluma-egg-farm/|title=Animal Rights Activists Stage Huge Protest At Petaluma Egg Farm|date=2018-05-29|access-date=2018-11-12|language=en}} DxE activists see "open rescue" as establishing "the right to rescue" animals legally in the future.{{Cite web|url=https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2018/09/21/whole-foods-takes-legal-action-against-berkeley-animal-rights-group/|title=Whole Foods Takes Legal Action Against Berkeley Animal Rights Group|last=Amanda says|date=2018-09-21|language=en|access-date=2019-02-18}}

After numerous protests inside the Whole Foods store in Berkeley, California, Whole Foods obtained a restraining order against DxE activists in September 2018, prohibiting Wayne Hsiung and 150 other unnamed DxE activists from entering that particular store or its parking lot.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/05/whole-foods-animal-rights-protest-restraining-order|title=Whole Foods v vegans: Berkeley store gets restraining order against activists|last=Canon|first=Gabrielle|date=2018-10-05|website=The Guardian|language=en|access-date=2018-11-12}}

In November 2015, DxE became one of the most visible backers of a new action known as the "Liberation Pledge", with co-founder Wayne Hsiung authoring a piece in the Huffington Post announcing the pledge.{{Cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wayne-hsiung/post_10470_b_8480886.html|title=How Animal Lovers Are Transforming Thanksgiving|last=Hsiung|first=Wayne|date=2015-11-06|website=HuffPost|access-date=2016-12-19}} According to the website liberationpledge.com, it is defined by the following three points:

{{blockquote|One: Publicly refuse to eat animals—live vegan.{{br}}

Two: Publicly refuse to sit where people are eating animals.{{br}}

Three: Encourage others to take the pledge.{{Cite web|url=http://www.liberationpledge.com|title=The Liberation Pledge|website=liberationpledge.com|access-date=2016-12-19}}}}

The pledge was considered controversial upon release, including criticisms regarding food justice concerns and by potentially isolating vegans who take the pledge.{{Cite news|url=http://thecommentist.com/beardedvegans14/|title=Should vegans take the Liberation Pledge? – Episode 14|last=The Bearded Vegans|date=2015-11-21|newspaper=The Commentist|access-date=2016-12-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170218113347/http://thecommentist.com/beardedvegans14/|archive-date=2017-02-18|url-status=dead}} Several prominent figures in the animal rights movement, including Anita Krajnc of the Toronto Pig Save and Keith McHenry of Food Not Bombs took the pledge, with McHenry declaring, "We must stop the eating of animals."{{Cite web|url=http://www.liberationpledge.com/our-words|title=Our Words — The Liberation Pledge|website=liberationpledge.com|access-date=2016-12-19}} Wanyama Box creator Nzinga Young defended the Liberation Pledge, writing, "when I spend time in safe spaces with sacred people, I don't want to see carnage."{{Cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nzinga-young/i-dont-let-my-friends-eat_b_11575264.html|title=I Don't Let Friends Eat Meat In My Presence|last=Young|first=Nzinga|date=2016-08-20|website=HuffPost|access-date=2016-12-19}}

Following the Farmer John investigation, DxE activists repeatedly interrupted LA Dodgers baseball games to protest the team's touting of Farmer John's "Dodger Dogs" hot dogs.{{Cite web|url=http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2016/10/01/angel-pagan-slam-why-the-protester-ran-on-field/|title=Angel Pagan slam: Protester speaks out on why he ran on field|last=Gafni|first=Matthias|date=2016-10-01|website=East Bay Times|access-date=2017-01-30}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.pe.com/articles/group-807391-treatment-ingredients.html|title=DODGERS: Animal rights activists removed after running onto field during protest over hot dogs|date=2016-07-03|website=Press Enterprise|access-date=2017-01-30}} Activists in LA, Colorado, and the San Francisco Bay Area jumped on the field during plays at several games with banners declaring "Dodgers Torture Animals" and "Animal Liberation Now".{{Cite web|url=http://gazette.com/protesters-jump-over-wall-rush-the-field-during-rockies-dodgers-game/article/1581825|title=Protesters jump over wall, rush the field during Rockies-Dodgers game|agency=Associated Press|date=2016-08-03|website=Colorado Gazette|access-date=2017-01-30}} The activists tied their protests to Farmer John, protesting the promotion of "torture and death of animals".

DxE followed up its Farmer John investigation by investigating a cage-free egg supplier to Costco.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/21/business/video-reveals-how-cage-free-hens-live-animal-advocates-say.html|title=How 'Cage-Free' Hens Live, in Animal Advocates' Video|last=Strom|first=Stephanie|date=2016-10-20|work=The New York Times|access-date=2017-01-30}} Costco had been a key leader in the 2016 trend of food companies committing to shift to a cage-free egg supply, but, according to DxE, the investigation raised questions about the state of animal welfare after that shift.{{Cite web|url=https://qz.com/582427/after-months-of-pressure-costco-commits-to-a-cage-free-egg-supply/|title=After months of pressure, Costco commits to a cage-free egg supply|last=Shanker|first=Deena|date=2015-12-28|website=Quartz|access-date=2017-01-30}} DxE released a video that shows dead birds on the floor and injured hens pecked by other chickens. One bird had a piece of flesh hanging off its beak.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/21/business/video-reveals-how-cage-free-hens-live-animal-advocates-say.html|title=How 'Cage-Free' Hens Live, in Animal Advocates' Video|last=Strom|first=Stephanie|date=2016-10-20|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-03-04|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} In response to the video released by DxE, the supplier claimed that the activists had committed a "break-in and trespassing" and that "The video does not show what truly goes on in our barns and appears to be staged for production effect". The group did not seek permission to enter the farm, Lead Organizer Wayne Hsiung said, but he argued that the group had not broken any laws because they had suspected animal cruelty and that gave them a right to enter the property. All birds inside the farm were destroyed due to the contamination risk the activists had introduced into the farm, according to the supplier. The two DxE organizers who conducted the investigation were initially charged with felony commercial burglary and subsequently pleaded no-contest to a reduced charge of trespass.{{Cite news|url=https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2019/02/19/18821286.php|title=Costco Egg Supplier Seeks to Bankrupt Animal Investigators|website=Indybay|language=en|access-date=2019-03-04}} The defendants were then ordered to pay restitution of $331,991 to compensate the farm owner based on his assertion that he was forced to slaughter all chickens in the barn. The defendants claim that the "depopulated" chickens were in a barn they never entered.

Direct Action Everywhere staged a protest at the SoMa location of Costco in San Francisco. Direct Action Everywhere activists forcibly occupied the store's meat section and held a "die-in" near an entrance that involved activists covering each other with fake blood and pretending to eat each other. The protest involved Costco suppliers' controversial treatment of hens. Activists from the organization claimed that many of the "cage-free" farms were housing the chickens in crowded cages and violating principles dictated by the "certified humane" label. They released undercover footage of the farms showing the poor conditions.{{Cite web|last=Johnson|first=Lizzie|date=2016-10-23|title=Armed with fake blood, animal-rights activists protest at SF Costco|url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Armed-with-fake-blood-animal-rights-activists-10154372.php|access-date=2021-05-02|website=SFGATE|language=en-US}} Another protest was held at a Costco store in New Berlin, Wisconsin.{{Cite web|url=http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Armed-with-fake-blood-animal-rights-activists-10154372.php|title=Armed with fake blood, animal-rights activists protest at SF Costco|last=Johnson|first=Lizzie|date=2016-10-23|website=San Francisco Chronicle|access-date=2017-01-30}}{{Cite web|url=http://wisconsingazette.com/2016/12/21/animal-rights-activists-protest-inside-new-berlin-costco/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230103072543/https://www.wisconsingazette.com/2016/12/21/animal-rights-activists-protest-inside-new-berlin-costco/|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 3, 2023|title=Animal rights activists protest inside New Berlin Costco|last=Swartz|first=Tim|date=2016-12-21|website=Wisconsin Gazette|access-date=2017-01-30}}

File:Saving Roselynn from Land O'Lakes Dairy Farm.webm

In December 2016, DxE open rescue projects began expanding beyond the Bay Area when members in Toronto released an investigation of a pig farm.{{Cite news|url=https://www.thedodo.com/baby-pig-factory-farm-2151716622.html|title=They Saw This Baby Pig And Knew They Had To Save Her Life|date=2016-12-16|work=The Dodo – For Animal People|access-date=2017-04-17|language=en}} The project was followed up by an internationally coordinated rescue with animal advocates in Sweden, Germany, and Australia.{{Cite web|url=http://www.dailycal.org/2017/03/07/animals-rescued-unsafe-farm-conditions/|title=Animals should be rescued from unsafe farm conditions|first=Cassie|last=King|date=2017-03-07|website=The Daily Californian|access-date=2017-04-17}} In April 2017, DxE activists in Colorado conducted an investigation of Morning Fresh Farms, a cage-free chicken egg supplier.{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/NowThisPolitics/|title=NowThis Politics|via=Facebook|language=en|access-date=2017-04-17}}{{Primary source inline|date=September 2020}}

File:Circle Four Farms pig farms - Milford Utah.jpg

In 2017, activists with DxE entered Smithfield Foods-owned Circle Four Farms in Utah and performed an open rescue of two piglets subsequently named Lily and Lizzie. Their rescue triggered an extensive multi-state FBI hunt for the two baby piglets.{{cite news |last= Greenwald|first=Glenn|date=October 5, 2017 |title=The FBI's Hunt for Two Missing Piglets Reveals the Federal Cover-Up of Barbaric Factory Farms|url=https://theintercept.com/2017/10/05/factory-farms-fbi-missing-piglets-animal-rights-glenn-greenwald/|work=The Intercept|author-link=Glenn Greenwald|access-date=October 5, 2017}} DxE released a virtual-reality video that takes viewers into barns at Circle Four Farms and shows sows with bloody and mangled teats; pregnant sows gnawing on the bars of the narrow stalls they live in until they give birth; and piglets clambering over and nibbling dead siblings.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/06/dining/animal-welfare-virtual-reality-video-meat-industry.html|title=Animal Welfare Groups Have a New Tool: Virtual Reality|last=Strom|first=Stephanie|date=2017-07-06|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-02-11|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} A video taken by DxE that coincided with the open rescue at Circle Four Farms has been called inaccurate by a spokesman for Smithfield; the video purports to show mistreatment and abuse of animals at Circle Four Farms.{{cite web|last1=Bear|first1=John|title=Animal rights organization says FBI search at Erie sanctuary related to 'rescue' of piglets from Utah|url=http://www.dailycamera.com/erie-news/ci_31305664/animal-rights-organization-says-fbi-search-at-erie|website=Boulder Daily Camera|date=15 September 2017|publisher=Digital First Media|access-date=23 November 2017}} In November the same year, a group of DxE activists, which included actress Alexandra Paul, claimed to expose animal cruelty and neglect at Zonneveld Dairy, a Land O'Lakes dairy supplier based in California, which included "young calves living in filthy hutches, unprotected from record low and high temperatures between 19 and 110 degrees Fahrenheit, suffering from pneumonia, diarrhea, open sores, maggot infestations, and infections." The team of activists performed an pen rescue on one sick calf, later named Roselynn.{{cite news |last=Butler|first=Kiera|date=November 7, 2017|title=Inside the Bold New Animal Liberation Movement: No Masks, No Regrets, All the Risk|url=https://www.motherjones.com/food/2017/11/inside-the-bold-new-animal-liberation-movement-no-masks-no-regrets-all-the-risk/|work=Mother Jones|access-date=November 9, 2017 }}{{cite news |last= Starostinetskaya |first=Anna|date=November 8, 2017 |title=Rampant Animal Cruelty Exposed at Land O'Lakes|url=http://vegnews.com/articles/page.do?pageId=10348&catId=1|work=VegNews|access-date=November 9, 2017 }}

In September, 2017 DxE organizers attended a small-scale poultry processing class at Long Shadow Farm, a 6-acre farm in Berthoud, Colorado specializing in pasture-raised chickens. The facility raises animals and offers "poultry processing services".{{Cite web|url=http://www.reporterherald.com/news/larimer-county/ci_31310944/denver-animal-rights-group-says-it-rescued-chickens|title=Denver animal rights group says it 'rescued' chickens from Berthoud family farm|website=reporterherald.com|date=18 September 2017|access-date=2019-03-04}} Led by DxE Organizer Aidan Cook, under the name of "Denver Baby Animal Save" the group entered the property masquerading as volunteers{{Cite news|url=http://www.reporterherald.com/news/larimer-county/ci_31310944/denver-animal-rights-group-says-it-rescued-chickens|title=Denver animal rights group says it 'rescued' chickens from Berthoud family farm|access-date=2017-10-18}} and took three chickens, after asking to hold some of the birds and being assisted in doing so by the farm owners' eight-year-old daughter. Opinions on the actions vary, with DxE organizers and members claiming to have "rescued" the birds, while the farm owners considered it "theft". A DxE spokesperson stated that "even if the animal rights group could have saved more chickens by purchasing them, the group opposes buying into a system that hurts animals." The DxE organizers who conducted the "open rescue" responded to an inquiry by the farm owner, "We have taken your birds to a sanctuary, where they can be free."{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/09/19/animal-rights-group-steals-chickens-farm/680951001/|title=Animal rights group steals chickens from farm to 'free' them|website=USA Today|language=en|access-date=2019-03-04}} Two of the chickens that were taken were carriers of mycoplasma, a highly infectious respiratory disease in poultry.{{Cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/09/19/animal-rights-group-steals-chickens-farm/680951001/|title=Animal rights group steals chickens from farm to 'free' them|work=USA Today|access-date=2017-10-18|language=en}} The Larimer County Sheriff's Office investigated several felony allegations including trespassing, attempted theft of livestock and theft of livestock.{{Cite news|url=http://www.coloradoan.com/story/news/2017/09/18/denver-based-animal-rights-group-steals-chickens-berthoud-farm/678055001/|title=Denver-based animal rights group steals chickens from Berthoud farm|work=Coloradoan|access-date=2017-10-18|language=en}}

In May 2018, a Utah prosecutor filed felony charges against six DxE activists stemming from an undercover investigation into conditions on a turkey farm in Moroni, Utah which serves as a supplier for Norbest. The DxE investigation found "tens of thousands of turkeys crammed inside filthy industrial barns, virtually on top of one another."{{Citation needed|reason=Where is this quote from??|date=September 2019}} The activists rescued three turkeys suffering from disease or injuries and were on the brink of death. The charges include two felony theft charges that carry possible prison terms of five years each.{{cite news |last=Greenwald |first=Glenn |author-link=Glenn Greenwald |date=May 4, 2018 |title=Six Animal Rights Activists Charged With Felonies for Investigation and Rescue That Led to Punishment of a Utah Turkey Farm |url=https://theintercept.com/2018/05/04/six-animal-rights-activists-charged-with-felonies-for-investigation-and-rescue-that-led-to-punishment-of-a-utah-turkey-farm/|work= The Intercept|access-date=May 4, 2018 }} In October 2018 the verdict of the judge was to allow 3 of the defendants to perform community service in lieu of further punishment if they plead guilty to misdemeanors. However, Wayne Hsiung and Paul Darwin Picklesimer will have to go through an additional trial to determine the final verdict.

In April 2019, DxE activists broke into a Smithfield Foods farm in North Carolina to expose overcrowding and unsanitary conditions there, and the extensive use of antibiotics. In addition to acquiring footage of scores of sick piglets and refrigerators full of powerful antibiotics, the group took a 6-week-old female pig, subsequently named Lauri, and rushed her to a vet. Testing revealed Lauri suffered from pneumonia, anemia and an antibiotic-resistant staph infection. She now resides at an animal sanctuary. Hsiung, who was involved in the raid on the farm, told The New York Times "Americans have a fundamental right to know how their food is being produced, but right now, the only way to gather this information is to break the law." Responding to an inquiry from The Times, Smithfield leveled accusations that the group has a history of manipulating footage in order to "mislead the public and gain attention for its activist agenda which includes 'total animal liberation.'"{{cite news |last=Andrew |first=Jacobs |date=August 4, 2019 |title=Stealing Lauri|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/04/science/stealing-lauri.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=August 6, 2019 }}

In May 2020 DxE obtained and released video footage of the ventilation shutdown (VSD) method used to kill pigs at an Iowa Select Farms facility. According to a whistleblower who was an employee at Iowa Select Farms, the pigs died very slowly from overheating and suffocation when the ventilation system was shut off.{{Cite web|last=Greenwald|first=Glenn|date=May 29, 2020|title=Hidden Video and Whistleblower Reveal Gruesome Mass-Extermination Method for Iowa Pigs Amid Pandemic|url=https://theintercept.com/2020/05/29/pigs-factory-farms-ventilation-shutdown-coronavirus/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-06-07|website=The Intercept|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200529163309/https://theintercept.com/2020/05/29/pigs-factory-farms-ventilation-shutdown-coronavirus/ |archive-date=2020-05-29 }} Matt Johnson, the activist who entered the facilities to obtain VSD footage, removed a piglet from one facility to perform an "open rescue" of the animal.{{Cite web|date=2021-05-09|title=Charges dropped against activist who exposed Iowa hog deaths|url=https://apnews.com/article/pandemics-iowa-city-iowa-trials-subpoenas-50332a3905f4913d108865d27ee5d21d|access-date=2021-06-07|website=AP NEWS}} Charges against Johnson for these activities were dropped in January 2021 when Iowa Select Farms decided not to testify. Other, later charges against Johnson, also relating to activity at facilities owned by Iowa Select Farms, were also suddenly dropped in January 2022 after the defense subpoenaed executives and employees to testify. Johnson, who had hoped the cases would go to trial in order to challenge the constitutionality of ag-gag laws, stated "we are setting a precedent that rescuing animals from situations where they're in distress is the right thing to do. It's not a crime."{{cite news |last=Bolotnikova|first=Marina |date=January 23, 2022 |title=An animal rights activist was in court on criminal charges. Why was the case suddenly dismissed? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/22/an-animal-rights-activist-was-in-court-on-criminal-charges-why-was-the-case-suddenly-dismissed |work=The Guardian |location= |access-date=January 24, 2022}}{{cite news |last=Lennard |first=Natasha |date=January 30, 2022 |title=Prosecutors Silence Evidence of Cruel Factory Farm Practices in Animal Rights Cases |url=https://theintercept.com/2022/01/30/animal-rights-activists-dxe-trial-evidence/ |work=The Intercept |location= |access-date=February 2, 2022}}

DxE has had an ongoing campaign against companies who make claims about selling food products made with "humane" standards of animal welfare. Targets of this campaign have included the supermarket Whole Foods Market, the restaurant chain Chipotle Mexican Grill, and several farms. Through its investigations, public statements and writings, protests, and livestock theft, DxE has alleged that such companies misrepresent the actual conditions on their farms or their suppliers' farms. DxE also maintains that it is not possible to raise and kill animals in a humane way.{{Cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/2014/03/02/dont_buy_the_chipotle_hype_theres_no_such_thing_as_humane_slaughter/|title=Don't buy the Chipotle hype: There's no such thing as "humane" slaughter|last=Gazzola|first=Lauren|website=Salon|date=2 March 2014|access-date=2017-02-13}}

The Director of Operations for Certified Humane, Mimi Stein, said in an email to The Washington Post that "DxE is attempting to undermine consumer confidence in products which are in fact ethically produced and businesses working in good faith to reinvigorate a very desirable traditional business model...Shame on DxE!"{{cite news|last1=Judkis|first1=Maura|title=Bowing to pressure, a Berkeley butcher shop makes a deal with vegan protesters|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/food/wp/2017/08/02/vegan-protesters-get-butcher-shop-to-say-killing-animals-is-wrong-but-not-to-stop-doing-it/|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=25 February 2018|ref=WAPOBUTCHER|date=2 August 2017}}

DxE's leaders include a number of students of social science, and DxE organizers aim to use social science in persuading others to join their protests and self-proclaimed rescues. DxE has published articles on the evidence for nonviolent civil resistance based on the work of political scientist Erica Chenoweth, the importance of social ties based on the work of sociologist Doug McAdam, and the importance of mobilizing masses of ordinary people based on research by network scientist Duncan Watts.{{Cite web|url=https://medium.com/direct-action-everywhere-dxe/four-reasons-why-direct-action-leads-to-animal-liberation-edf64953d7f5|title=Four Reasons Why Direct Action Leads to Animal Liberation – Direct Action Everywhere (DxE)|last=Groff|first=Zach|date=2016-10-19|website=Medium|access-date=2017-02-21|archive-date=2019-04-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408061601/https://medium.com/direct-action-everywhere-dxe/four-reasons-why-direct-action-leads-to-animal-liberation-edf64953d7f5|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=https://medium.com/direct-action-everywhere-dxe/a-potential-summary-of-disagreements-and-agreements-on-direct-action-18fb8703f409|title=A (Potential) Summary of Disagreements and Agreements on Direct Action – Direct Action Everywhere (DxE)|last=Groff|first=Zach|date=2016-10-21|website=Medium|access-date=2017-02-21|archive-date=2019-04-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408061558/https://medium.com/direct-action-everywhere-dxe/a-potential-summary-of-disagreements-and-agreements-on-direct-action-18fb8703f409|url-status=dead}}

Activists and writers associated with DxE have criticized the animal rights movement's contemporary focus on creating individual vegans and celebrating consumer products like vegan ice cream rather than focusing on activism and changing social and political institutions.{{Cite web|url=http://veganpublishers.com/wayne-hsiung-the-evolution-of-veganism-is-empowered-activism-the-next-stage/|title=Vegan Publishers|website=veganpublishers.com|language=en-US|access-date=2017-02-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012123923/http://veganpublishers.com/wayne-hsiung-the-evolution-of-veganism-is-empowered-activism-the-next-stage/|archive-date=2017-10-12|url-status=dead}} DxE argues that the individual focus is less effective than trying to change institutions, since the individual focus does not lead people to do more once they stop using animals personally.{{Cite web|url=http://veganfeministagitator.blogspot.com/2014/10/ten-questions-vegan-rockstar-edition_29.html|title=The Vegan Street Blog from the Vegan Feminist Agitator: Ten Questions: Vegan Rockstar Edition with Wayne Hsiung|last=Marla|date=2014-10-29|website=The Vegan Street Blog from the Vegan Feminist Agitator|access-date=2017-02-13}} Instead, DxE argues that activist groups should push people to take action so that the movement grows more quickly. Activists with DxE have argued that nonviolence is in principle a practice of anger toward systems and compassion toward individuals and that a protest movement will be more successful by focusing on governments, corporations, and other institutions rather than making individual consumers defensive by attacking them personally.{{Cite news|url=http://directactioneverywhere.com/theliberationist/2015/10/21/stigmatizing-eating-animals|title=Stigmatizing Eating Animals|newspaper=Direct Action Everywhere|access-date=2017-02-13|language=en-US}}

DxE's blog has argued that consumer vegan options also distract from the actual threat to animals, allowing companies that are hurting animals like Whole Foods to avoid criticism and leading animal rights activists not to take action against them.{{Cite news|url=http://directactioneverywhere.com/theliberationist/2015/3/5/dear-animal-advocates-vegan-options-are-not-animal-liberation|title=Vegan Options are Not Animal Liberation|newspaper=Direct Action Everywhere|access-date=2017-02-13|language=en-US}} In a debate with Rutgers philosopher and animal rights theorist Gary Francione, DxE co-founder Wayne Hsiung stated that "activism, not veganism, is the moral baseline."{{Cite web|url=http://www.goveganradio.com/26-july-2015/|title=Go Vegan Radio {{!}} Archives {{!}} 26 July 2015|last=Admin|website=www.goveganradio.com|language=en-US|access-date=2017-02-13}}

File:Saving Oliver from the Dog Meat Trade - -YulinIsEverywhere.webm

Wayne Hsiung cites as an inspiration for DxE the work of Patty Mark, an Australian animal rights activist and founder of Animal Liberation Victoria (ALV).{{Cite news|url=http://directactioneverywhere.com/theliberationist/2014/11/24/on-the-shoulders-of-giants|title=On the Shoulders of Giants|newspaper=Direct Action Everywhere|access-date=2017-02-21|language=en-US}} ALV activists popularized the tactic of going into farms in the middle of the night without disguises and filming the conditions inside.{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20090304000812/http://rescate-abierto.org/que-es-rescate-abierto.php Rescate abierto de animales]}} Equanimal (in spanish) The tactic stands in contrast to the more common form of investigation in the U.S. animal rights movement in which an investigator poses as a farm worker to film using a hidden camera. Open rescue activists {{Who|date=April 2017}} emphasize that their approach allows the portrayal of individual animals' stories since activists can focus on animals in the farm, and to rescue animals who would otherwise die of disease document their recovery.Ronnie Rose, "The Power of Open Rescue", Satya Magazine. 2016 Self-published version can be found here: https://medium.com/@ronnierose/the-power-of-open-rescue-58b250323a32 It {{Who|date=April 2017}} also touts open rescue as a form of activism anyone can undertake, offering the possibility and goal of thousands of open rescue teams across the country.

DxE aims to establish a legal right to rescue inhumanely treated animals, on the basis of laws that allow bystanders to rescue animals in danger such as a dog in a hot car.{{cite news |last1=Letourneau |first1=Connor |title=This California student could go to prison for taking four chickens. Was it a crime or a ‘rescue’? |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/zoe-rosenberg-petaluma-poultry-20240205.php |access-date=2 May 2025 |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=May 1, 2025}}

DxE has cited open rescues as particularly key to exposing "humane" companies that are generally smaller and more difficult to infiltrate.{{Cite news|url=http://directactioneverywhere.com/theliberationist/2015/1/9/on-the-importance-of-open-rescue-three-reasons-the-ar-movement-has-to-get-serious-about-liberation|title=On the Importance of Open Rescue: Four Reasons to Get Serious about Liberation|newspaper=Direct Action Everywhere|access-date=2017-02-21|language=en-US}} In April 2016, three members of DxE went undercover to Yulin, China, home of the Yulin dog meat festival, to document the upcoming preparations of the festival; they said they have been able to catch some of the brutality on camera at one of the largest slaughterhouses in the city.{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/celebrities-square-off-chinese-dog-meat-festival/story?id=40031828|title=Celebrities Square Off Against Chinese Dog Meat Festival|website=ABC News|language=en|access-date=2019-02-11}} Two of the activists with DxE were able to smuggle out the video footage they had captured, along with three dogs bound for slaughter.{{Cite web|url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Berkeley-City-Council-passed-a-resolution-against-9237403.php|title=Berkeley City Council passed a resolution against eating dogs last night|last=Spotswood|first=Beth|date=2016-09-21|website=San Francisco Chronicle|access-date=2019-02-11}}

Open rescue has been criticized by one such smaller, "humane" company that has been the target of DxE's use of the tactic. Petaluma Farms, a distributor of eggs for Whole Foods, was investigated and the subject of a highly publicized campaign and open rescue of DxE's. Jonathan Mahrt, an employee of Petaluma Farms and son of Petaluma Farms' owner Steven Mahrt, said, "My dad's take is that it's a sad day when farmers and ranchers have to be concerned about security."

On May 29, 2018, several hundred DxE demonstrators held a protest outside Cal Eggs Farm in Petaluma, California, and 40 of the activists entered a barn and carried out live and diseased birds. These 40 activists were arrested for misdemeanor trespassing.{{Cite news|url=https://www.petaluma360.com/news/8377254-181/animal-rights-activists-hold-large|title=Dozens of animal welfare activists arrested after large protest at Petaluma chicken farm|date=2018-05-29|work=Petaluma Argus Courier|access-date=2018-11-12|archive-date=2019-04-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408061602/https://www.petaluma360.com/news/8377254-181/animal-rights-activists-hold-large|url-status=dead}} DxE activists believe that they have the legal right to rescue animals from farms in California described in state laws, and they want to establish this right in courts.{{Cite web|url=http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Animal-Rights-Activists-Protest-Chicken-Facility-in-Sonoma-County-494717591.html|title=Animal Rights Activists Arrested at Chicken Facility Protest|last=News|first=Bay City|website=NBC Bay Area|date=30 September 2018 |language=en|access-date=2019-02-18}}

A major open rescue action was held on Saturday, September 29, 2018, at Petaluma Farms, the supplier to Amazon and Whole Foods, and the largest in the US. Several dying hens were removed from filthy, crowded sheds. One hen was allowed to leave with the activists and was sent to a sanctuary, however the rest were sent to animal control and did not survive. Petaluma sheriff's office reported that 67 activists were arrested at the scene. DxE counted it was 58 activists who were arrested. After release, activists protested against the arrests, as the activists believe that they had the right to the open rescue under California penal law code statue 597E, Doctrine of Necessity, which allows any person to enter a premises to provide food and or water to an animal which has not had either food or water for twelve hours or more.{{Cite web|url=https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN§ionNum=597e|title=Law section|website=leginfo.legislature.ca.gov|access-date=23 August 2019}} The activists are continuing to fight to be allowed to continue open rescues.{{Cite news|url=https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2018/09/29/67-animal-rights-activists-arrested-trying-to-remove-chickens-from-petaluma-farm/|title=67 Animal Rights Activists Arrested Trying To Remove Chickens From Petaluma Farm|date=2018-09-29|access-date=2018-11-12|language=en}}

In May 2018, Hsiung and four others were charged in Utah with felonies for burglary, livestock theft, and engaging in "a pattern of illegal activity" and misdeameanor for engaging in a "riot". They were identified after posting high-quality video online of an open rescue of taking pigs from a Smithfield Foods facility in Beaver County, Utah.{{cite news|url=https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900019252/5-animal-rights-activists-charged-with-pilfering-pigs-in-utah.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010014227/https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900019252/5-animal-rights-activists-charged-with-pilfering-pigs-in-utah.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 10, 2018|title=5 animal rights activists charged with pilfering pigs in Utah|last=Reavy|first=Pat|work=Deseret News|date=21 May 2018}}{{cite magazine |last=Greenberg | first=Andy |author-link1=Andy Greenberg | title=Meet the Activists Risking Prison to Film VR in Factory Farms |url=https://www.wired.com/story/direct-action-everywhere-virtual-reality-exposing-factory-farms/ |access-date=December 5, 2019 |magazine=WIRED |date=December 5, 2019}} The defendants Wayne Hsiung and Paul Picklesimer were acquitted on all counts in October 2022.{{cite news |last=Bolotnikova|first=Marina |date=October 8, 2022 |title=Activists Acquitted for Removing Smithfield Foods Piglets From Smithfield Foods|url=https://theintercept.com/2022/10/08/smithfield-animal-rights-piglets-trial/|work=The Intercept |location= |access-date=October 9, 2022}}{{cite news |author= |date=October 11, 2022 |title=Right to Rescue: Jury Acquits Animal Rights Activists Who Saved Piglets at Smithfield Factory Farm|url=https://www.democracynow.org/2022/10/11/the_right_to_rescue_jury_acquits|work=Democracy Now! |location= |access-date=October 12, 2022}}

In September 2021, DxE activists Alicia Santurio and Alexandra Paul participated in an open rescue when they took two severely ill chickens from a truck outside of a Foster Farms slaughterhouse in Livingston, California. Both were acquitted by a California jury in March 2023.{{cite news |last=Bolotnikova |first= Marina |date=March 21, 2023 |title=The fight against factory farming is winning criminal trials|url=https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/23647682/factory-farming-dxe-criminal-trial-rescue|work=Vox |location= |access-date=March 21, 2023}}

Inspired by both activist networks and street theater groups such as Improv Everywhere, DxE mobilizes masses of activists to creative protest in prominent public spaces. Early actions in DxE's history include a guerrilla poem, a "freeze" at a prominent mall, the disruption of a screening of American Meat with the stories and images of companion animals, and numerous other creative efforts.{{Cite web|url=http://www.stanforddaily.com/2013/02/13/op-ed-a-response-to-the-american-meat-protest-from-dxe/|title=Op-Ed: A Response to the American Meat Protest From DxE|last=Ed|first=Op|website=Stanford Daily|date=13 February 2013|access-date=2017-02-21}}

Notable network-wide protests have included an effort in the summer of 2015 to incorporate dogs, cats, and other companion animals into protests as a symbol of human support, connections, and equality with animals. DxE also issued the #DisruptSpeciesism and #DogMeatPlease viral video challenges in September 2014 and 2015, respectively, which garnered social media fame when videos by DxE organizers Priya Sawhney, Kelly Atlas, and Jenny McQueen went viral.{{Cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/animal-rights-activists-stormed-a-toronto-steakhouse-to-protest-societys-meat-eating-habits/|title=Animal Rights Activists Stormed a Toronto Steakhouse to Protest Society's Meat Lust – VICE|website=Vice|date=30 September 2015 |language=en-us|access-date=2017-02-21}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.hlntv.com/video/2014/10/13/its-not-food-its-violence-vegan-rant-snow-chicken|title=Vegan rant goes viral: 'This isn't food, it's violence' {{!}} HLNtv.com|newspaper=HLNtv.com|access-date=2017-02-21}}

In March 2018, DxE co-hosted a rally with Compassionate Bay in support of Supervisor Katy Tang of San Francisco leading the effort to ban the sale of fur in the city.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thebaycitybeacon.com/politics/supervisor-s-fur-ban-pits-high-fashion-against-modern-animal/article_b7f87ec2-0623-11e8-a1b9-57f64f48f5fa.html|title=Supervisor's Fur Ban Pits High Fashion Against Modern Animal Ethics|author=Mike Ege|website=thebaycitybeacon.com|language=en|access-date=2019-02-24|archive-date=2019-04-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408061602/https://www.thebaycitybeacon.com/politics/supervisor-s-fur-ban-pits-high-fashion-against-modern-animal/article_b7f87ec2-0623-11e8-a1b9-57f64f48f5fa.html|url-status=dead}} Later that month, the board of supervisors of San Francisco voted unanimously to ban the sale of new fur.{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/03/20/san-francisco-fur-sales-ban/444519002/|title=San Francisco becomes largest U.S. city to ban fur sales|website=USA Today|language=en|access-date=2019-02-24}}

Benny Johnson of the Independent Journal Review has called their protest tactics in Berkeley "bullying" in regards to graphic Berkeley protests in the summer of 2017.{{cite web|last1=Johnson|first1=Benny|title=Mom and Pop Butcher Shop Bullied by Vegans Until They Agreed to Post This Sign in Their Store|url=http://ijr.com/2017/08/939006-mom-pop-butcher-shop-bullied-vegans-agreed-post-sign-store|website=IJR – Independent Journal Review|access-date=25 February 2018|ref=IJROPED|date=3 August 2017|archive-date=26 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180226032622/https://ijr.com/2017/08/939006-mom-pop-butcher-shop-bullied-vegans-agreed-post-sign-store|url-status=dead}}

Activists within the DxE network have undertaken a number of prominent disruptions of public figures. In August 2015, Iowa activist Matt Johnson asked New Jersey Governor Chris Christie about his veto of a widely supported bill banning gestation crates for mother pigs that the public widely regarded as cruel.{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/22/politics/chris-christie-iowa-state-fair-hecklers-pork/index.html|title=Christie ribbed by animal rights activists at Iowa State Fair|author=Betsy Klein and Maggie Loughran|date=22 August 2015|publisher=CNN|access-date=2017-02-21}}

Johnson staged similar disruptions along the campaign trail, including at Iowa campaign events by Ohio Governor John Kasich and former U.S. President Bill Clinton and an appearance by former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina at the Iowa Pork Producers.{{Cite news|url=http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/iowa-poll/2015/09/26/kasich-talks-tough-cyber-security-iowa-forum/72826844/|title=Kasich talks tough on cybersecurity at Iowa forum|newspaper=Des Moines Register|access-date=2017-02-21|language=en}}{{Cite news|url=https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/258013-animal-rights-protestor-interrupts-bill-clinton/|title=Animal-rights protester interrupts Bill Clinton|last=Smilowitz|first=Elliot|date=2015-10-24|newspaper=The Hill|access-date=2017-02-21}}{{Cite news|url=http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/01/27/3743643/fiorina-interrupted-pork-farmers-event/|title=Faced With Animal Rights Activist, Fiorina Defends Pork Farmers By Attacking Abortion|last=Atkin|first=Emily|date=2016-01-28|newspaper=ThinkProgress|access-date=2017-02-21}} Several activists from Iowa and Indiana also interrupted a Republican family values forum on the eve of Thanksgiving and the release of DxE's Diestel Turkey Ranch investigation video.{{citation needed|reason=RSN. Looks like the Des Moines Register might have an article, but I don't have access|date=June 2020}}

In January 2016, activists interrupted a speech by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf at the 100th anniversary of the Pennsylvania Farm Show, saying that there was no reason to confine and kill pigs, chickens, and cows when it was not okay to do that to dogs or cats.{{Cite news|url=http://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/01/animal_rights_activists_farm_s.html|title=Animal activists escorted out of 2016 Farm Show|newspaper=PennLive.com|access-date=2017-02-21|language=en-US}} DxE activist Zach Groff has stated that DxE aims to ensure that any event or public figure "promoting violence against animals" is the target of a protest interruption.{{Cite web|url=http://www.porknetwork.com/community/thompson-stuff-animal-rights-activists-say|title=Thompson: Stuff animal rights activists say {{!}} Pork Network|website=www.porknetwork.com|language=en|access-date=2017-02-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222053418/http://www.porknetwork.com/community/thompson-stuff-animal-rights-activists-say|archive-date=2017-02-22|url-status=dead}}{{Cite news|url=http://directactioneverywhere.com/theliberationist/2015/4/17/how-a-former-lonely-vegan-ended-up-confronting-the-secretary-of-agriculture|title=How a Former Lonely Vegan Ended up Confronting the Secretary of Agriculture|newspaper=Direct Action Everywhere|access-date=2017-02-21|language=en-US}}

On December 23, 2020, Johnson was interviewed by Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo, where he posed as the CEO of meat packing company Smithfield Foods. He warned that its farms could be a "petri dish" for new diseases, and that the industry could be "effectively bringing on the next pandemic", citing a CDC report that three of every four infectious diseases originated from animals.{{cite news|last=Burke|first=Minyvonne|date=December 23, 2020|title=Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo interviewed animal activist posing as Smithfield Foods CEO|work=NBC News|location=|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fox-business-host-maria-bartiromo-interviewed-animal-activist-posing-smithfield-n1252278|url-status=live|access-date=April 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111032915/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fox-business-host-maria-bartiromo-interviewed-animal-activist-posing-smithfield-n1252278|archive-date=January 11, 2021}}{{Cite web|last=Goldman|first=David|title=Fox News' Maria Bartiromo thought she was interviewing the CEO of Smithfield Foods. It was an impostor|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/23/media/maria-bartiromo-smithfield/index.html|url-status=live|access-date=2021-04-12|website=CNN|date=23 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201224032143/https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/23/media/maria-bartiromo-smithfield/index.html |archive-date=2020-12-24 }} On September 3, 2021, Johnson posed as Donnie D. King, the CEO of Tyson Foods, for an interview on Newsmax to discuss ventilation shutdown, saying:

It may be a little unorthodox of me to be saying this, quite frankly, but one of our main pork suppliers ... went with the most economic option available to them and they literally loaded thousands of pigs into industrial sheds. And they pumped in heat and steam, and they were really just roasting pigs alive.{{cite news |last=Blake |first=Andrew |date=September 4, 2021 |title=Newsmax tricked into interviewing animal rights activist posing as Tyson Foods CEO |url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/sep/4/newsmax-tricked-into-interviewing-animal-rights-ac/ |work=The Washington Times |location= |access-date=September 5, 2021}}

On September 8, 2022 during the National Football League's 2022 Kickoff Game at SoFi Stadium, two DxE activists ran onto the field carrying pink smoke bombs during the fourth quarter, disrupting play between the Los Angeles Rams and Buffalo Bills. The two protesters were bringing attention to a trial against Smithfield Foods regarding their factory farm practices.{{cite news |last1=Peter |first1=Josh |title=Protesters interrupt NFL's season-opener between Bills-Rams with pink smoke bombs |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2022/09/09/animal-rights-activists-interrupt-nfl-opener-between-bills-rams/8032257001/ |access-date=4 October 2022 |work=USA Today |date=9 September 2022}} Less than a month later, during a Week 4 matchup against the Rams and San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium, another DxE activist ran onto the field near the end of the first half, also carrying a pink smoke bomb and wearing a shirt similar to the two protesters from the previous incident. Rams linebacker Bobby Wagner and defensive end Takkarist McKinley tackled the intruding protester near the Rams' sideline before he was escorted off the field by security.{{cite news |last1=Hernandez |first1=Victoria |title=WATCH: Rams linebacker Bobby Wagner tackles protester who ran on field during MNF |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/rams/2022/10/03/bobby-wagner-tackles-protestor-who-runs-field/8173001001/ |access-date=4 October 2022 |work=USA Today |date=3 October 2022}}

Lauren-Elizabeth McGrath of vegan magazine Ecorazzi commented in 2016 that "They're an organization that is set on disrupting the day of the average meat-eater, but fails to help them beyond just that" and discussed accusations of racism within the organisation.{{cite news|url=http://www.ecorazzi.com/2016/01/22/slow-burn-the-internal-implosion-of-direct-action-everywhere/|title=Slow burn: The internal implosion of Direct Action Everywhere|last=McGrath|first=Lauren-Elizabeth|date=22 January 2016|work=Ecorazzi|access-date=9 October 2018|archive-date=8 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408061603/http://www.ecorazzi.com/2016/01/22/slow-burn-the-internal-implosion-of-direct-action-everywhere/|url-status=usurped}} Carol Adams, vegetarian-feminist and author of The Sexual Politics of Meat, announced on her blog that she intends to boycott events that host DxE speakers, stating that "DxE is both a counterproductive organization [for activism] as well as cult."{{Cite web|url=https://caroljadams.com/carol-adams-blog/why-i-am-boycotting-events-if-dxe-is-also-an-invited-speaker|title=Carol J Adams|date=21 April 2018 }}

• List of animal rights groups
• Open rescue
• Hunt sabotage
• Veganism

{{reflist}}

• [https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2020/2/19/21142969/bernie-sanders-joe-biden-protesters-vegan-activists The animal rights protesters disrupting Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders rallies, explained]. Vox, March 3, 2020.
• [https://newrepublic.com/article/165468/animal-rights-dxe-smithfield Animal Rights Activists Rescued Two Piglets From Slaughter. They Wanted to Get Caught.] The New Republic, February 23, 2022
• [https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2022/10/25/23412945/farm-animal-welfare-humane-meat-eggs-vote What is an animal’s life worth?] Vox, October 25, 2022.
• [https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/14/opinion/foster-farms-chicken-slaughterhouse-animal-cruelty.html Rescuing Farm Animals From Cruelty Should Be Legal]. The New York Times. February 14, 2023
• [https://www.wired.com/story/dxe-animal-agriculture-investigation-guide/ This Is the Ops Manual for the Most Tech-Savvy Animal Liberation Group in the US]. Wired. November 8, 2023

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• {{Official website|https://www.directactioneverywhere.com/}}

{{Animal rights|state=uncollapsed|movement}}

Category:American animal rights organizations

Category:Organizations based in Berkeley, California

Category:Organizations established in 2013