Two activists armed with superglue and a mission turned a routine Tuesday shopping trip into a very different kind of experience for Trader Joe's customers in Pasadena and Monrovia. The July 2 incidents have since escalated into a full-blown legal battle that's putting the spotlight on where the line gets drawn between passionate protest and disruptive behavior.
Ani Kandada, a San Francisco resident who used to crunch numbers as an accountant, decided to make a statement by gluing his hand to a refrigerator in the poultry section of the original Trader Joe's location at 610 S. Arroyo Parkway in Pasadena. Meanwhile, fellow activist Carla Cabral took her protest straight to the source, supergluing her hand to the front desk at Trader Joe's corporate headquarters in Monrovia.
On July 2, 2025, an animal rights activist from the group Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) superglued her hand to the front desk at Trader Joe’s corporate headquarters in Monrovia, California. She was promptly arrested. pic.twitter.com/vizbGdknRN
— The Shade Room (@ShadeRoomLive) July 4, 2025
Both were arrested, both were released, and both have August court dates ahead of them. But their individual actions represent something much bigger—a months-long campaign that's got grocery executives reaching for their legal playbooks.
When Grocery Shopping Gets Complicated
The protests are the handiwork of Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), a Berkeley-based animal rights group that's been making waves since 2013. According to SFGate, Trader Joe's filed a complaint on July 3 in Alameda County Superior Court, alleging that DxE members have been doing everything from "threatening and berating customers" to "removing items from customers' shopping baskets" and even "posing as authorized representatives of Trader Joe's."
The grocery chain isn't just annoyed—they're seeking a temporary restraining order. The Press Democrat reports that the complaint names DxE and five specific members, detailing protests that hit locations from Berkeley to San Diego between June 27 and June 30.
Picture this: you're trying to buy organic chicken for dinner, and suddenly there are protesters with megaphones asking you to reconsider your protein choices. That's been the reality at Trader Joe's locations across California, where the company says demonstrators have been ignoring employee requests to stop filming customers and refusing to leave when asked.
The Berkeley Connection
DxE isn't your typical weekend protest group. According to Wikipedia, what started as a small Bay Area operation has grown into a global network spanning more than 30 countries. The organization was co-founded by Wayne Hsiung, who ran for Berkeley mayor in 2020 and knows his way around a courtroom—he was convicted of felony trespassing in November 2023.
The group specializes in what they call "open rescue" operations—essentially, activists enter farms and slaughterhouses to remove animals they believe are suffering. DxE's website proudly notes they've "reached tens of millions via coverage in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Intercept and more" and operate the first community center for animal rights in the US.
It's All About the Chickens
The target of DxE's ire isn't Trader Joe's Hawaiian shirts or quirky product names—it's the grocery chain's relationship with Perdue's Petaluma Poultry, a California subsidiary of the national poultry giant Perdue Foods. The Intercept reports that DxE has been investigating the company since 2018, claiming to have documented concerning conditions at facilities.
DxE alleges they've found "routine violations of California's animal cruelty laws" and documented "birds collapsed on the floor or stuck on their backs and unable to walk to food or water, left to slowly starve to death." According to their campaign page, they've also identified what they describe as "infectious diseases that threaten public health."
The Other Side of the Story
Perdue Foods and industry representatives strongly dispute these characterizations. The company has pursued its own legal action against DxE, with The Press Democrat reporting that they filed an injunction in April 2025 to protect one of their executives from what they called "a campaign of terror" involving protests at his Santa Rosa home.
Industry voices have rallied to Petaluma Poultry's defense. Bill Mattos, president of the California Poultry Federation, told Meat+Poultry that "Petaluma Poultry has long been a leader in free-range and organic poultry, and they're known for taking great care of their birds."
When Protests Get Personal
The demonstrations haven't been limited to polite sign-holding. The complaint details incidents that read like a customer service nightmare: protesters repeatedly engaging with families who confronted them at the Oakland College Avenue location, requiring "store leadership to console customers who were very upset." At the San Diego location at 819 Camino del Rio North, similar demonstrations led to verbal altercations.
Kandada, facing felony vandalism charges, remains defiant about his superglue strategy. According to Indybay, he stated: "It is absurd that I'm being charged with felony vandalism. The refrigerator is perfectly fine, my hand is fine, but the chickens are not fine."
Part of a Bigger Picture
The Trader Joe's situation reflects broader trends in animal rights activism that have industry groups paying closer attention. The Animal Agriculture Alliance notes there's been "a disturbing uptick in public displays of extreme animal rights activism" involving farm trespassing, animal removal, and disrupting public events.
The tactics have evolved beyond traditional protest methods. AG Professionals reports that 2024 saw increased focus on "positioning large companies as 'villains' that benefit from the current food system at the expense of farmers and ranchers."
Legal Showdown Ahead
The case raises interesting questions about where peaceful protest ends and business disruption begins. Trader Joe's argues they've crossed that line, potentially creating liability issues for the company when customers feel harassed or threatened while trying to buy groceries.
A case management conference is scheduled for December 2 in Alameda County Superior Court, while Kandada and Cabral await their August court dates. The stakes aren't just legal—they're about setting precedent for how far activist groups can push their tactics in retail environments.
DxE shows no signs of backing down. Cabral told SFGate in a July 14 news release: "We brought this to Trader Joe's, but instead of listening, they blocked us, refused all dialogue, and hired powerful attorneys to try to shut us up."
The situation also connects to the ongoing legal saga of UC Berkeley student Zoe Rosenberg, who faces felony charges for allegedly taking chickens from the Petaluma Poultry slaughterhouse in June 2023. Her trial is scheduled to begin September 15, 2025, and could last two weeks.
This story is developing more than a week after the initial incidents because the legal implications continue to unfold, court dates are approaching, and the campaign shows no signs of slowing down. Whether corporate legal action can effectively curtail such demonstrations—or if it will simply escalate the conflict—remains to be seen.
One thing's certain: grocery shopping in California just got a lot more complicated.
