Joey Chestnut is headed back to Coney Island in New York, where he has won the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest a record 15 times. It’s also the same place where a year ago, he put a chokehold on a protester who rushed the stage during the competition.
“I’m a little bit worried,” Chestnut told USA TODAY Sports when asked about the incident. “It seems like that’s getting more popular. You just never know.
“Hopefully it all works out.”
Scott Gilbertson, the protester who was charged with criminal trespassing, disorderly conduct and harassment after being arrested that day, is hoping for something else.
“Maybe someone will protest again this year,” said Gilbertson, 22, of Berkeley, California. “That’d be cool to see. I’d be cheering them on.”
Security will be beefed up this year, according to George Shea, host of the contest. Discussing last year’s incident, Shea said, “I just think that it’s really, really reckless, and you don’t know who that is and you don’t know their intent. To me, it was something that they certainly should have been prosecuted.”
What happened last year?
Less than three minutes into the contest last year, a man wearing a Darth Vader mask rushed the stage and bumped into Chestnut, who at the time was devouring his 18th hot dog.
Seconds later, Chestnut took matters into his own hands. He briefly put a chokehold on Gilbertson, who fell to the ground and was pulled off stage by security.
“Bro hero that he is and always will be, (Chestnut) got the guy in a headlock and didn’t even drop his hot dogs,” said Shea.
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Gilbertson was working with two other men. They were at Coney Island at the expense of Direction Action Everywhere (DxE), a network of animal rights activists who were protesting the treatment of pigs at Smithfield Farms, which owns the licensing rights to Nathan’s hot dogs.
After his arrest, Gilbertson told USA TODAY Sports he was suffering from neck pain and said Chestnut’s actions were “unnecessary.”
At the time, Chestnut expressed some remorse but added, “I wish (Gilbertson) had just stood by me and I never would have touched him. If he hadn’t elbowed me and got in front of me, it would have not been a problem. But I also wish they didn’t get on stage.”
Gilbertson was charged with criminal trespassing, disorderly conduct and harassment. The two other men were charged with criminal trespassing and disorderly conduct. The charges against them were eventually dropped – contingent on the men completing 50 hours of community service and staying out of legal trouble in New York for about a year.
Gilbertson said he won’t be at Coney Island for this year’s contest and thinks there will be too much security for a protester to storm the stage.
But Cassie King of DxE, the group of animal rights activists, did not rule out the possibility of another protest.
“As long as violent industries are exploiting animals, non-violent protesters will continue to take action,” she wrote in a text message to USA TODAY Sports, “even if it means they are met with violence in response, like being choked by Joey Chestnut.”
