American activist
Wayne Hsiung is an American activist and attorney.[ 2] [ 3] Hsiung is a co-founder of The Simple Heart Initiative and previously led the animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) , which he also co-founded.[ 4] [ 5] [ 6] [ 7] During his time as a lawyer, he worked with the law firms DLA Piper and Steptoe & Johnson , was a Searle Fellow and visiting assistant professor at the Northwestern University School of Law , and a National Science Foundation-funded graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology .[ 8] [ 9] Hsiung ran for mayor of Berkeley, California , in 2020, largely focused on the issue of animal rights, and earned 24% of the vote, defeated by incumbent Jesse Arreguin .[ 10] [ 11]
Hsiung was incarcerated in November 2023 after being convicted of felony trespassing for his role in an open rescue of sick and dying chickens from Sunrise Farms in 2018.[ 12] [ 1] Prior to this trial, Hsiung had been found guilty of two felonies;[ 13] in other jurisdictions he has faced charges of up to 60 years in prison.[ 14] In the most serious case, Hsiung was offered resolution that involved no prison time, on the condition that he refrain from criticizing the company he had investigated, Smithfield Foods ; he and co-defendant Paul Picklesimer refused the offer and were acquitted after trial in October 2022.[ 15]
^ a b c Greene, Jenna (January 4, 2024). "From Big Law to jail, animal rights activist seeks to break new legal ground" . Reuters . Retrieved February 29, 2024 .
^ "Wayne Hsiung for Berkeley, CA Mayor 2020" . Wayne Hsiung for Mayor . Retrieved 2020-06-23 .
^ "Berkeley Mayor Election Results" . Berkeley Mayor Election Results . Retrieved 2020-06-23 .
^ "Wayne Hsiung" . Twitter . Retrieved 2023-06-02 .
^ "Wayne Hsiung" . Facebook . Retrieved 2023-06-02 .
^ "Wayne Hsiung" . Substack . Retrieved 2023-06-02 .
^ Colman, Zack (2016-04-16). "The Fight for Cage-Free Eggs" . The Atlantic . Retrieved 2017-02-27 .
^ "In Re: Allstate Life Insurance Company Litigation" . www.law360.com . Retrieved 2017-02-27 .
^ "Wayne Hsiung" . The Huffington Post . Retrieved 2017-02-27 .
^ Khan, Zara; Kapoor, Tarunika (2020-06-04). " 'A force for change': Prominent activist Wayne Hsiung runs for mayor" . The Daily Californian . Retrieved 2020-06-23 .
^ Jacobs, Andrew (2022-10-08). "Animal Rights Activists Are Acquitted in Smithfield Piglet Case" . The New York Times . Retrieved 2022-10-08 .
^ Lennard, Natasha (2023-11-04). "Update: Wayne Hsiung Found Guilty, Receives Suspended Sentence, Probation" . theintercept.com . The Intercept . Retrieved November 14, 2023 .
^ "Update: Wayne Hsiung Found Guilty, Receives Suspended Sentence, Probation" . transylvaniatimes.com . The Transylvania Times. 2022-07-12. Archived from the original on December 7, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2023 .
^ Klein, Ezra (5 December 2019). "When doing the right thing makes you a criminal" . Vox . Retrieved 22 January 2020 .
^ "Meet the Activists Risking Prison to Film VR in Factory Farms" . Wired . ISSN 1059-1028 . Retrieved 2020-07-14 .