Protestors sitting behind Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor disrupt playoff game
For the third time in two weeks, a Minnesota Timberwolves game was disrupted by protestors.
Saturday night during the third quarter of the playoff game between the Wolves and Memphis Grizzlies, a protestor who was sitting directly behind Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor's wife, Becky, bolted out of the stands onto the court only to be immediately tackled by a security guard.
As the protestor was being dragged off the court by multiple security guards, another protestor behind the Taylors was apprehended and removed from the stands. The video even shows one of Minnesota's assistant coaches, Micah Nori, was in the stands helping during the mayhem.
Here's the video.
As was the case during previous protests – a woman gluing her hand to the floor and another woman chaining herself to the hoop – the organization Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) has claimed credit.
The woman who stormed the court, identified by DxE as Sasha Zemmel, of St. Louis, Missouri, was dressed a referee and "shed an outer jacket" to reveal a shirt that states "Glen Taylor roasts animals alive."
DxE says the protests were carried out to raise awareness of DxE's investigation into Rembrandt Enterprises in Iowa, a company owned by Timberwolves majority owner Glen Taylor.
It has been confirmed by the Iowa Department of Agriculture that 5.3 million birds had to be destroyed in Buena Vista County – where Rembrandt Enterprises has a facility – in response to the outbreak of avian flu that has forced the culling of millions of poultry birds in the Midwest in an attempt to prevent further spread.
DxE alleges that Rembrandt used the controversial practice of "ventilation shutdown," where barns are closed and all ventilation sealed and fans turned off. Heaters, steam, or gas is then pumped into the barn to raise the temperature to the point the animals die either from overheating or suffocation.
DxE released footage that it claims to show the aftermath of a cull at Rembrandt Farm, which shows a handful of disheveled birds that survived, and at one point shows a conveyor belt seemingly transporting dead birds from one of the barns onto the back of a semi-truck with an open trailer.
The practice has spawned a protest movement including a group called Veterinarians Against Ventilation Shutdown, which describes it as a "brutal, painful method of animal depopulation."
USA Today reports the practice is approved by the USDA but "in extreme cases only," such as when an infected population "is too large."
DxE has demanded Taylor expedite the sale of the Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx to minority owners Mark Lore and Alex Rodriguez, who are set to take over majority ownership in 2023.
