A woman protesting the mass killing of chickens tried to glue herself to a basketball court Tuesday during a play-in game between the host Minnesota Timberwolves and the Los Angeles Clippers. (Watch the video below.)
While TNT announcers Kevin Harlan and Reggie Miller tried to figure out what was going on as personnel surrounded the protester near the baseline, sideline reporter Allie LaForce said the interloper tried to glue herself to the floor and was resisting security. The protester left a white handprint on the hardwood, one photo showed.
The animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere confirmed the motive in a news release, identifying the activist as Alicia Santurio.
Santurio wore a T-shirt saying “Glen Taylor Roasts Animals Alive” to protest the mass killing of chickens amid an avian flu outbreak on Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor’s Iowa egg farm, according to the release. The group alleged the suffocation method used to kill the birds was inhumane and against state law.
A laughing Santurio, still wearing her shirt and trending on Twitter as #GlueGirl, later took to the platform to say her stunt was to “raise awareness” of Direct Action Everywhere’s investigation of Taylor’s farm. Santurio wasn’t jailed, Direct Action Everywhere spokesperson Matt Johnson noted.
The Timberwolves announced on Twitter that the team was in touch with Target Center security to address the “fan disruption.”
The Timberwolves won, 109-104.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article erroneously reported that the Clippers were eliminated from the play-in tournament. They host a game on Friday.