The trial has ended for Direct Action Everywhere activist Zoe Rosenberg, and she has been convicted of trespassing and conspiracy in connection with a 2023 raid on a Petaluma poultry farm in which she stole/rescued four chickens.

UC Berkeley graduate Zoe Rosenberg's trial began in mid-September in Sonoma County, where she stood accused of felony conspiracy and multiple misdemeanors in connection with a Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) action that took place at Petaluma Poultry in June 2023. The case has been closely watched by the farming community and the animal rights community alike, and Rosenberg's conviction on Thursday is almost certainly going to be appealed.

The 23-year-old Rosenberg was convicted on all counts after the jury had deliberated less than 24 hours, and she now faces up to five years in prison — though she may get away with just probation.

Rosenberg's attorney, Chris Carraway, gave a statement outside the courtroom, as NBC Bay Area reports, saying, “Sonoma County spent over six weeks and hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to protect a multi-billion-dollar corporation from the rescue of four chickens worth less than $25."

Petaluma Poultry had been targeted multiple times by DxE, with activists reportedly entering the property at odd hours, and putting GPS trackers on its vehicles. In the incursion that took place June 13, 2023, Rosenberg herself "rescued" four birds from the property, and recorded herself in the act.

She fully admitted to the court that she took the chickens, and she turned down a plea deal offer in order to go to trial to bring more attention to the case.

That may help the animal rights cause overall, but it may not help her avoid jail time, and the poultry farming community, which goes back generations in Petaluma, was rip-roaring mad over the activists' activities and pushed the county DA to prosecute.

"The chickens I rescued, who I named Poppy, Ivy, Aster, and Azalea, were covered in scratches and bruises, filled with parasites and battling infections," Rosenberg said in a statement when the trial began. "I did what I think most people would’ve done if faced with such suffering: I acted to stop it, to get them help. Today, they are safe and happy at an animal sanctuary."

And today, Rosenberg reiterated her lack of remorse, telling the Press Democrat outside the court, "I will not apologize for taking sick, neglected animals to get medical care. Because I did, Poppy, Ivy, Aster and Azalea are alive today. For that, I will never be sorry."

One juror told the Press Democrat that coming to a verdict "was pretty cut and dry" for the twelve jurors, and "We read through and discussed [the charges] and we all seemed to be in agreement with the verdict."

District Attorney Carla Rodriguez gave her own statement to the paper, saying, "This verdict affirms that no one is above the law. While we respect everyone’s right to free expression, it is unlawful to trespass, disrupt legitimate businesses, and endanger workers and animals in pursuit of a political or social agenda."

Direction Action Everywhere, which was founded in the Bay Area in 2013, has been performing what they call "open rescue" operations at industrial farms for about a decade, with several other cases also ending up in court.

In other jurisdictions, juries and judges have been more lenient, like in a Utah case in 2022 in which two DxE activists were acquitted of burglary charges after taking two piglets from a pork farm there.

DxE members have had a specific, extended campaign against Petaluma Poultry, which is owned by the larger Perdue Farms, and they have conducted other protest actions in which they've "swarmed" Trader Joe's stores across California to protest the sale of Petaluma Poultry's chicken.

As the Chronicle notes, DxE co-founder Wayne Hsiung has done his own time in Sonoma County for his protest activity at poultry farms in Petaluma, spending 90 days in jail there in 2023. And since 2018, more than 130 DxE activists have been arrested for similar activities in Sonoma County.

Rosenberg will return to court December 3 for sentencing. She remains free on bail, but as the Press Democrat notes, she has been ordered to stay 500 yards from any bird, duck, meat, dairy, or egg farm.

Top image courtesy of Direct Action Everywhere