The state Supreme Court refused Wednesday to block a lawsuit by owners of The Golden Gate Fields against an animal rights group that allegedly recruited protesters to lie down on the racetrack last year and chain themselves together, briefly bringing horse racing to a halt. In March 2021, four demonstrators climbed a fence to enter the north Berkeley shoreline racetrack. According to the track owners, they set off smoke flares, then lay down with pipes connecting their arms and were not removed for hours. One race was canceled, and others were delayed. The owners, Golden Gate Land Holdings, sued not only the protesters but also the activist group Direct Action Everywhere. In their lawsuit, the owners refer to “the organization's alleged involvement in the illegal trespass, not its speech or petitioning activity,” Presiding Justice James Humes wrote in a 3-0 ruling. Michael Betz, a lawyer for the racetrack owners, said their suit poses no threat to free speech. “Free speech is very important to all of us, but it's got to be exercised lawfully,” he said after the court order. “When they entered the track illegally, trespassed, used incendiary devices, it goes beyond the bounds of what we all recognize as free speech.” And Betz said there was strong evidence that Direct Action Everywhere had promoted the protest. Read More (subscription required)
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