Topless animals rights protesters interrupted Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign rally Sunday in Nevada, demanding he end his support for the dairy industry.
As Sanders was addressing the Carson City crowd, a fully clothed young woman climbed on the stage and seized a microphone from the podium. Declaring herself Sanders’ “biggest supporter,” she implored the Vermont Independent to take action on behalf of the cows.
“Bernie, I’m your biggest supporter, and I’m here to ask you to stop pumping up the dairy industry and to stop pumping up animal agriculture,” she said. “I believe in you.”
MORE: Hospital Refuses Lifesaving Treatment to Man Over Trump Cutout — He Goes Full MAGA
As Sanders moved to the edge of the stage, the unidentified woman’s microphone was cut, and security officials moved in. The crowd booed.
Meanwhile, two topless activists rushed onto the stage with “Let Dairy Die” scrawled across their chests. They began pouring pink liquid onto their heads from cartons labeled “Milk.”
Sanders and his wife, Jane Sanders, stepped off to the side of the stage as the wild scene played out. Jane Sanders laughed, while Bernie Sanders looked red-faced and annoyed.
After the three protesters were taken away by security, Sanders returned to the stage.
“This is Nevada. There’s always a little excitement — at no extra cost. Except we have a lot of water on the stage,” he said.
The protesters were apparently inspired by Sanders’ 2018 support for legislation that provided emergency financial relief to U.S. dairy farmers because of the falling price of milk.
Twitter reacts to Bernie Sanders and the topless protesters
A number of conservative Twitter commentators suggested Sanders got the protesters he deserved given his left-wing political agenda and his notoriously belligerent supporters.
“Bernie surrounded himself with this and worse,” said journalist Tim Pool. “You reap what you sow.”
Bernie surrounded himself with this and worse
You reap what you sowhttps://t.co/86cIqZjjm9
— Tim Pool (@Timcast) February 17, 2020
Others read into the slow response by Sanders’ security team.
https://twitter.com/TallahForTrump/status/1229301726395748353?s=20
“What a waste of perfectly good boobies,” quipped journalist Cathy Young.
What a waste of perfectly good boobies https://t.co/R9wu9wAMyI
— Cathy Young 🇺🇸🇺🇦🇮🇱 (@CathyYoung63) February 17, 2020
MORE: Liberal ‘Pirate’ Assaulted Trump Supporters With a Deadly Cane Sword, Police Say
Sanders, 78, has emerged a frontrunner in the 2020 race ahead of the Feb. 22 Nevada primary.
Sunday was not the first time topless protesters have crashed one of his rallies. During his failed 2016 bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, it happened twice in the space of a few days in March.
First, a woman showed up at a rally in Arizona with the words “Stop Fascism” and “Hate speech is not free” written on her body. Then, two topless women were arrested outside a venue in Los Angeles for taking off pasties that read, “Feel The Bern!”
During that campaign, Sanders was repeatedly confronted by left-wing activists, notably including members of the Black Lives Matter movement. But he has shifted leftward on “social justice” issues, like race, gender immigration and abortion.
New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio, a failed 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, introduced Sanders at the Carson City event, days after endorsing him. De Blasio backed Hillary Clinton against Sanders in 2016.