An animal rights activist was in court on criminal charges. Why was the case suddenly dismissed?

Matt Johnson conducted an undercover expose of cruel practices used to mass exterminate pigs at Iowa Select Farms facilities

• This story contains graphic images of animal violence

When animal rights activist Matt Johnson last made national news, he was in disguise. He appeared on Fox Business in December 2020, sporting a buzz cut and button-down (much different to his usual casual attire) and posed as the CEO of Smithfield Foods. The pork giant he claimed to be representing had factory farms that were petri dishes for new diseases", he told the news anchor. After the segment went viral online, Fox realized their mistake: It appears we have been punked," host Maria Bartiromo announced, apologizing to Smithfield, which called the interview a complete hoax".

Johnson's antics, and his seeming lack of fear of the consequences, have made him a formidable opponent of the meat industry. But while the Fox incident offered a moment of levity, today, Johnson makes the news for something far more serious. He has just been let off for criminal charges that could have sent him to prison for up to eight years. After conducting an undercover expose of conditions at the pork company Iowa Select Farms in May 2020, his actions put him on the line for burglary and planting recording devices. Another charge, for trespassing at a food operation (an offense created by an Iowa ag-gag law), was added in 2021.