4 activists charged in March break-in at Wisconsin beagle breeding farm
By Derrick Rose
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MADISON, Wisconsin (WISN) — Prosecutors charged four people Tuesday in the March break-in at a beagle breeding and research facility where intruders documented the operation with first-hand videos showing them walking out with dogs in tow.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Dane County Circuit Court, Aditya Aswani, of New York, Michelle Lunsky, of Arizona, Dean Wyrzykowsi, of California, and Wayne Hsiung, of New York, are each charged with burglary, a felony.
Multiple videos and live streams of the March 15 break-in at Ridglan Farms in Blue Mounds went viral and documented what happened in real time. Several people, dressed in white Tyvek suits, could be seen leaving a building with beagles, the group believed was being mistreated.
“Are we trying to get attention? Of course,” Hsiung, a lawyer, told 12 News after his March arrest in the case. “In today’s political environment, the only way to get anything done is to get some attention. Dr. King was famous for saying the goal of an effective activist is to dramatize an issue and force people to negotiate. That’s what we’re trying to do.”
The incident resulted in at least 20 arrests; however, only Hsiung and the other three activists identified in the complaint have been criminally charged.
“I certainly understand Mr. Hsiung’s passion and concern for animals. With that said, you don’t get to take the law in your hands,” Court Commissioner Brian Asmus said in the April 21 initial appearance.
The hearings followed an attempted break-in days earlier at the Mount Horeb facility. Videos of the April 18 incident showed deputies using pepper spray on people trying to break in.
No one has been charged in the April incident.
In court records, prosecutors outlined an elaborate operation plan by the intruders. They said the group employed the use of several tools like pry bars, grinders, mallets, Tyvek suits, hand and eye protection and portable radios. The documents said activists were required to attend in-person training and each would be assigned to a specific team for the “open rescue.”
“Green team supports from public property. The yellow team is on the ” property to bear witness, support, de-escalate,” told they will only have potential for misdemeanor exposure. The red team, enters buildings and directly rescues animals with potential for felony exposure. This information comes directly from the Action Guide distributed to participants,” prosecutors wrote in the complaint.
The in-person training included methods to distract officers, “allowing others to continue with the mission to take the dogs from the facility.”
The commissioner ordered a $20,000 bond for Hsiung and $10,000 for each of the three others charged.
Online records show all four have since bonded out of the Dane County Jail.
Hsiung is due back in court April 29; the others June 1. Each of the next court dates is for a preliminary hearing where prosecutors could call witnesses and reveal additional evidence gathered in the investigation.
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