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The Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest is a Fourth of July tradition on Coney Island. It’s been held every year since 1916. Even during the height of the pandemic, the contest was held, only at a secret location. It returned to its original location this year as the nation celebrated Independence Day.

Joey Chestnut has been winning the contest for years, which didn’t end this year. Even though an animal rights protester attempted to disrupt his eating during the contest, he won. The protester was no match for Joey Chestnut, though. Watch as Chestnut chokes the guy out:

As you can see, a person wearing all black, including what looks like a Darth Vader mask, moves in front of Chestnut with a sign that reads “Expose Smithfield Deathstar,” causing Chestnut to lose his flow. Not for long, though, as Chestnut grabs the dissident by the neck, throws him to the ground, and keeps right on eating. He even won the contest again, making it his 15th win. This is a new record for the contest.

Looking at the ease with which the 37-year-old hot dog eating champion threw the guy down, it’s surprising to know that he came to the contest injured, in a medical boot and on crutches for a tendon injury to his leg. That didn’t stop him from taking another man down and still eating about 15 hot dogs more than the guy who came in second this year.

One person tweeted this about the incident:

The sign, “Expose Smithfield Deathstar,” refers to a farm in Beaver County, Utah. Smithfield Foods is Nathan’s pork supplier and the group Direct Action Everywhere, an animal activist group, was there to protest them for being “a company exposed for animal cruelty, worker abuse & pollution.”

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That was pretty impressive, what Joey Chestnut was able to do, while injured, and still win the contest! Protesters will do anything to get attention, even if it costs them being arrested. What do you think about what this protester did? Was Joey right to choke him out?