Animal rights protesters jumped barricades at a Bernie Sanders rally late Monday in Oakland, California, accusing the candidate of falling short in his efforts to fight "factory farming." 
 
 The Democratic presidential hopeful was addressing supporters at Frank Ogawa Plaza at City Hall when five people in their 20s and 30s hopped over barricades and attempted to rush the podium before Secret Service agents escorted them away. Agents also surrounded Sanders. 
 
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 The group identified itself as the Bay Area-based "Direct Action Everywhere," or DXE. Spokesman Zachary Groff, 24, said "roughly two dozen members of the animal liberation network" were present at the rally. 
 
 The group claims to have participated in demonstrations in 152 cities worldwide, including at least four other Sanders rallies. 
 
 Groff identified the five group members as Ashley Johnson, of New York City; Rebecca Muniz, of Berkeley; Matt Johnson, of Iowa; Aidan Cook, of Denver; and Amy Halpern-Laff, of Berkeley. They were detained for an hour or two, Groff said, and released without charge. 
 
 Video appears to show a Secret Service agent striking one of the barricade jumpers several times with a night stick. Groff identified that person as Johnson, whom he said suffered a bloody wound on his hand. 
 
 Although Sanders is, in many ways, the most progressive candidate campaigning, the group says he is not progressive enough when it comes to animal issues. 
 
 "Sanders claims to oppose 'factory farming,' but what he hides is that virtually all farms in the United States, including farms he supports, are essentially factory farms," said Groff, a Yale University graduate who is moving to Berkeley. "This was a success. We got the whole country talking about animal rights. You can't really be progressive and oppose animal rights." 
 
 Protesters Jump Barricade, Interrupt Sanders Rally in Oakland 
 
 Protesters jumped barricades and interrupted a Bernie Sanders rally late Monday in Oakland. Pete Suratos reports. (Published Monday, May 30, 2016) 
 
 Activists were not protesting Sanders himself, Groff said, but were trying to pull him in a more progressive direction. The group gave Hillary Clinton higher marks for releasing a campaign platform on animal issues, although the Democratic front-runner also "stops far short of what activists would like to see," Groff said. 
 
 Activists said they expect Sanders, "the progressive candidate, to support more radical action to provide animals not just with improved conditions but with legal rights to be free from harm." 
 
 The brief scuffle didn't seem to deter Sanders. 
 
 "We don't get intimidated easily," the candidate said afterward. 
 
 The crowd of about 20,000 was otherwise mostly peaceful. They cheered when Sanders donned a Golden State Warriors cap and told the crowd why he would be the best option for Democrats come November. 
 
 "In virtually every state and national poll, we do much better than Trump than Secretary Clinton does," he said. 
 
 But Sanders faces an uphill battle, as his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton is about 70 delegates away from clinching the nomination. A large number of those are superdelegates who could change their minds, and that's what Sanders and his supporters are banking on. Sanders believes a win in California, a state with 475 delegates, would be a giant first step in the right direction. 
 
 "If there is a large voter turnout, we will win and win big," he told the gathering in Oakland. 
 
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 Supporters aren't giving up either. 
 
 "He should stay in to the very last minute," said Joshua Harris, who was at the Oakland rally. "He should stay in as long as he can." 
 
 Another Sanders supporter, Jeff Nibert, agreed: "If California can send a message to the country next Tuesday, that would be a shocker around the world." ||||| U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders speaks at a campaign rally in Santa Barbara, California, U.S. May 28, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson 
 
 (Reuters) - At least five animal rights activists on Monday rushed the stage as presidential candidate Bernie Sanders spoke at a rally in Oakland, video posted online showed. 
 
 The protesters were led away by several Secret Service agents before they were able to reach the Democrat, whose speech was briefly interrupted by the disturbance, a video posted by CNN showed. 
 
 A Secret Service agent rushed to Sanders’ side, grabbed him and wrapped his arms around the presidential candidate during the ruckus. 
 
 “We don’t get intimidated easily,” said Sanders, as he resumed his speech. 
 
 Animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere claimed responsibility for the protest, saying in a statement that it hoped to persuade Sanders to take a tough stance against factory farms. 
 
 “Bernie Sanders claims to support the ‘good’ farms,” activist Rachel Ziegler said in the statement. “But as our repeated investigations have shown, even the ‘good’ farms are horrific.” 
 
 The organization posted a video online showing at least five protesters being led away by security personnel after they climbed onto the stage. 
 
 Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, is running far behind Hillary Clinton in the race for the Democratic nomination for the Nov. 8 presidential election. 
 
 In March, a man stormed the stage as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump spoke in Vandalia, Ohio before being held by several agents. ||||| Sanders packs Oakland pews, backs Warriors 
 
 Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ visit to Oakland came with the joyous strains of gospel music, loud cheers in a variety of languages, and a sea of blue posters splashed with the presidential candidate’s name. 
 
 Not to mention a little shout-out to the hometown fans. 
 
 After meeting with actor Danny Glover and San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim at the Allen Temple Baptist Church in East Oakland early Monday afternoon, Sanders fired up the crowd at a downtown Oakland rally when he donned a yellow Warriors cap. 
 
 “Do I have the right hat?” Sanders asked to laughter. When he finished speaking, he took off for the Oracle Arena to catch the second half of the Warriors’ Game 7 victory. 
 
 But there was plenty of serious talk from Sanders with California’s high-stakes Democratic presidential primary just a week away. 
 
 “When we began this campaign, the pundits had determined in their never-failing wisdom that our campaign was going to be a fringe campaign,” he told the enthusiastic crowd in Frank Ogawa Plaza, outside Oakland City Hall. “They didn’t think we would go very far. Well, a year has come and gone, and here we are.” 
 
 Thousands of people, many dressed in blue T-shirts and hats printed with “Feel the Bern,” turned out for the hour-long downtown rally. The line to get into the event wrapped around six city blocks. 
 
 Issues relevant to Oakland 
 
 Oakland was the presidential hopeful’s latest stop in a grueling series of high-profile rallies across the state. From the pulpit and the podium, Sanders spoke about unemployment, the cost of living and the country’s dependence on jails. 
 
 His cries for a political revolution against what he calls corrupt politics sparked cheers and applause at both locales, from churchgoers crammed into the choir pews to young people ringed around City Hall. Sanders discussed issues geared toward Oakland: incarceration rates, police shootings and the need for universal health care. 
 
 Sanders talked about poverty rates across the nation, noting that while 22 percent of youth are poor, the rate is higher for minority communities. 
 
 “It might be a little bit smart to be investing in jobs and education for those young people instead of jails,” Sanders said. “Every person in this room and country should be profoundly humiliated by the fact that we have more people in jail in America than any other country on Earth.” 
 
 Emmy Dissett, 34, of West Oakland waved a poster in the air and cheered. 
 
 “I love that he is here,” she said, grinning. “He is an amazing guy. He’s in a $99 suit and is so relatable. Other politicians haven’t given much attention to Oakland. He cares about all of us: the women, the minorities, the young people.” 
 
 Sanders’ California rallies have drawn thousands of enthusiastic supporters, helping tighten the primary race between him and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. A poll last week by the Public Policy Institute of California found Clinton with a narrowing 46 to 44 percent lead over Sanders. 
 
 With Clinton holding a solid lead in pledged and unpledged delegates, California is a must-win state for Sanders if he is to convince delegates at the July national convention in Philadelphia that he is the party’s best hope of beating Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee. A growing number of independent voters could decide the final result, the poll showed. 
 
 ‘He is going to bring change’ 
 
 At the church, Sanders fielded questions about police shootings, an issue at the forefront in the Bay Area, especially since San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr was forced to resign in May after an officer shot an apparently unarmed black woman near the Bayview district. Police departments across the country need to provide more diversity and training in de-escalating tense confrontations, Sanders said. 
 
 “What kind of country are we when mothers are afraid to let their kids go out and play?” he said. “We do not have the culture which says that lethal force, shooting somebody, is the last response, not a first response. Too often the response is killing someone rather than coming up with other ways of dealing with the problem.” 
 
 Some residents were impressed that Sanders even came to their community, said Annette Haugabook, 56, of Oakland, who sat near a wall of stained glass windows waiting for the senator to arrive. 
 
 “I am in support of Sanders because he is going to bring change,” she said. “The fact that he would come to East Oakland means a lot to me because a lot of candidates won’t. You have to come to my community so I know you’re serious about change.” 
 
 Community often ignored 
 
 Clinton also has paid visits to Oakland in recent weeks, including for a roundtable on urban issues at a Jack London Square restaurant last week. 
 
 East Oakland is often neglected in the scope of national politics, said Aïdah Rasheed of Oakland, 31, a Muslim woman who said she tries to support other religious communities. 
 
 “Not a lot of politicians are interested in talking to people from this community,” she said. “I am praying people will come out and support his campaign because he is trying to change the land we live in and the way we deal with politics.” 
 
 Sanders said his grassroots efforts would infuse energy into the election process and could get him to the White House. 
 
 “We are trying to run a campaign here in California that, to the best of my knowledge, is unprecedented,” Sanders said. “We have worked at 23 rallies all over the state. I believe we have an excellent chance to win here in California and to win big.”
– Bernie Sanders may be the preferred candidate of birds, but his stance on animal rights wasn't good enough for at least five protesters who rushed the stage at a rally in Oakland, Calif., Monday evening. The protesters were intercepted and taken away by several Secret Service agents before they could reach the candidate. Another Secret Service agent rushed to Sanders' side and wrapped his arms around him when the interruption began, reports Reuters. The animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere claimed responsibility, saying that it wants Sanders to get tough on factory farms. Sanders resumed speaking within minutes, saying: "We don't get intimidated easily." He told the crowd of around 20,000 people that he can win California if turnout is big enough, and that he's the best choice for Democrats because "in virtually every state and national poll, we do much better than Trump than Secretary Clinton does," NBC San Francisco reports. After speaking, he headed for Oracle Arena to catch the second half of the Golden State Warriors' 96-88 Game 7 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.