On March 4, 2021, a group of four protestors lying on the track in a “sleeping dragon” maneuver caused officials to push back the start of the live racing card at Golden Gate Fields in the San Francisco Bay area of Northern California. Races were scheduled to begin at 12:45 p.m. Pacific, and after a six-hour delay, racing resumed under the lights with the second race run without incident at 7:27 p.m. PT.
The protestors were joined by a group of about a dozen others demonstrating outside the track, and belong to a group called Direct Action Everywhere (DXE). The four protestors on the track were arrested and charged with trespassing.
According to reason.com, Golden Gate Land Holdings LLC filed a lawsuit against Direct Action Everywhere, the complaints including the trespassing and intentional interference with prospective economic relations, in that the trespass “proximately caused [Golden Gate] to incur economic harm.”
Direct Action responded by filing an anti-SLAPP motion, claiming it was sued for engaging in a constitutionally protected activity. SLAPP stands for strategic lawsuits against public participation, and The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press explains: “Anti-SLAPP laws are intended to prevent people from using courts, and potential threats of a lawsuit, to intimidate people who are exercising their First Amendment rights.”
However, the California Court of Appeals ruled that Direct Action is not protected by anti-SLAPP laws in this case because Golden Gate's lawsuit is based on illegal trespassing.
The appeals court's ruling reads: “The anti-SLAPP law does not immunize advocacy organizations, including Direct Action, from claims based on vicarious liability for another's non-protected conduct simply because of the nature of their organizational missions.”
Read more at reason.com.
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