Overview
- Closing statements were scheduled Tuesday after a seven-week proceeding in Sonoma County, with a verdict pending.
- Zoe Rosenberg, 23, faces a felony conspiracy charge plus misdemeanors for trespass and vehicle tampering, exposing her to more than five years in prison if convicted.
- Prosecutors say she entered Petaluma Poultry without authorization on four occasions, attached GPS devices to 12 delivery vehicles, and removed four birds during a coordinated Direct Action Everywhere operation as about 50 people demonstrated outside.
- The defense says she investigated conditions for months, consulted a veterinarian concerned by footage suggesting animals were boiled alive, and acted to rescue the birds; Rosenberg testified she disguised herself as a worker, posted video of the action, and told AP prosecutors later dropped an initial theft charge.
- Perdue denies mistreatment and labels DxE extremist, while Sonoma County’s record of activist prosecutions looms over the case, with DxE member Raven Deerbrook testifying about placing GPS trackers after pleading to two misdemeanors in 2024.