Opening statements began Monday in the Sonoma County trial of animal activist Zoe Rosenberg, whose defense hinges on whether jurors see her actions as a moral rescue or a criminal conspiracy.
Rosenberg, 23, faces one felony conspiracy count and three misdemeanors stemming from a series of incursions at a Petaluma Poultry facility between April and June 2023. Her case, overseen by Judge Kenneth Gnoss, is expected to last much of October and has drawn national attention because of her ties to Direct Action Everywhere, or DxE, an animal rights group known for aggressive demonstrations at farms and grocery stores.
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Deputy District Attorney Jessalee Mills told jurors the case will show “activism that crosses the line into criminal conduct.”
“This case is not about what Miss Rosenberg believes; it’s about what she did,” Mills said. “And what she did was illegal.”
Prosecutors allege she entered the facility on Lakeville Highway late at night, accessed computers and records, and placed GPS trackers on 12 delivery trucks. On June 13, they say, she removed four birds from a trailer while about 50 DxE members rallied outside before several drove away with the animals in a rented SUV.
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Mills described it as “a deliberate campaign to infiltrate and disrupt a lawful business.”
Rosenberg’s attorney, Kevin Little, countered that his client is “not nearly the radical person the prosecution is trying to portray.” He said Rosenberg carefully documented what she believed to be cruelty inside the facility and contacted law enforcement before removing the birds, which he said were suffering.
“This is not necessarily a whodunit,” Little told jurors. “It’s a whydunit.”
The judge has already barred Rosenberg’s team from using a “necessity defense,” which allows defendants to argue their actions were taken to prevent imminent harm. Gnoss ruled in June that the criteria — including lack of legal alternatives and immediate danger — did not apply to the poultry farm actions.
The trial marks the second high-profile DxE prosecution in Sonoma County in as many years. Rosenberg was arrested outside the courthouse in November, just hours after DxE co-founder Wayne Hsiung was sentenced to 90 days in jail and two years’ probation in a similar conspiracy and trespassing case.
Since then, DxE has continued to target poultry operations in Sonoma County and beyond. Activists have staged mass demonstrations, blocked delivery trucks, protested outside company officials’ homes and disrupted Trader Joe’s stores across California to discourage the sale of Petaluma Poultry products. Trader Joe’s and others have sought injunctions to stop the demonstrations.
Ten months ago, county voters overwhelmingly rejected a DxE-backed ballot measure that sought to shut down large-scale poultry and livestock operations. Local agricultural leaders say Rosenberg’s trial will be a test of how far such activism can go before it breaks the law.
“When you break the law you pay the price,” said Herb Frerichs, general counsel for Petaluma Poultry, in a statement Friday. “Your personal opinion about whether people should eat meat does not overrule the laws that we must all follow. We expect the jury will agree.”
Rosenberg faces probation to up to five years in prison if convicted. Testimony is set to resume at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.
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