On Monday, Iron County prosecutors dropped charges against four animal activists with the Farm Animal Rights Movement for violating the state’s “ag-gag” law.
While the activists will not be charged under the ag-gag law, not everyone is convinced of the county’s change of heart. The law protects large corporations from scrutiny, said Jesse Fruhwirth, a writer for the Salt Lake-based City Weekly.
“I think that [the] ag-gag law is an attempt to buttress and support corporate power even when it’s appalling,” he said.
Ag-gag laws make it illegal to do undercover private investigations on agricultural facilities. In the past, animal advocacy groups have sent people into farm facilities to record incidents of abuse. Such laws exist in six states, including Utah. Other states are considering similar legislation.
The law’s critics claim ag-gag laws violate the First Amendment and allow animal cruelty to fly under the radar. Fruhwirth added that the laws amount to an attack on journalists.
“The ag-gag law is a dangerous cut to the First Amendment freedom of the press,” he said. “What ag-gag does is attempt to place extra punishment for what is very good work and what should be recognized as free press activity under the first amendment.”
Iron County authorities will now pursue lesser charges of misdemeanor criminal trespass. Calls to Utah’s Assistant Attorney General Daniel Widdison were not immediately returned.