Above Photo: Matt Rourke / AP
Clinton is the first major party presidential candidate to issue an animal rights platform.
A Hillary Clinton rally in Las Vegas was briefly halted Thursday afternoon by a group of animal rights activists who accused the candidate of not sticking to her own platform.
The Democratic presidential nominee appeared momentarily shaken by the interruption before at least four Secret Service agents joined her onstage. After a few seconds, Clinton addressed the crowd with a laugh.
“Apparently these people are here to protest Trump because Trump and his kids have killed a lot of animals,” she said. “So thank you for making that point.”
Direct Action Everywhere, the animal liberation network the activists are aligned with, issued a press release during the rally to further detail its platform, which called for “Secretary Clinton to take a stronger position for animal rights and against the raising and killing of animals for food.”
Activist Kitty Jones released an open letter on behalf of the group Thursday morning that praised Clinton for having an animal rights platform but said the candidate’s support for the issue doesn’t go far enough. The letter called for an end to government subsidies for the meat industry and for “affirmatively supporting legal personhood for nonhuman animals.”