A former co-defendant in activist Zoe Rosenberg’s felony conspiracy case testified this week that she — not Rosenberg — was responsible for launching the series of Petaluma Poultry incursions at the center of the Sonoma County trial.
Raven Deerbrook, a former member of the animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere, told jurors she began investigating the poultry plant in April 2023 after reading stories about the facility in The Press Democrat and ProPublica. Acting on her own, she said, she entered the property twice at night that month before alerting Rosenberg to her findings.
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Rosenberg joined her May 21, Deerbrook said, when the two went onto the property without permission.
“Have you tried to minimize anybody else’s involvement?” Rosenberg’s attorney, Kevin Little, asked.
“No,” she replied.
Prosecutors allege the pair entered Petaluma Poultry multiple times in spring 2023, accessed company computers and records, and placed GPS trackers on a dozen delivery trucks. They say the activity culminated June 13, 2023, when Rosenberg removed four chickens from a trailer while about 50 Direct Action Everywhere members rallied outside the facility.
Rosenberg was arrested that November outside the courthouse, shortly after DxE co-founder Wayne Hsiung was sentenced to 90 days in jail and two years’ probation in a similar trespassing and conspiracy case. If convicted, Rosenberg faces a sentence ranging from probation to five years in jail.
Deerbrook, who reached a plea deal in June and pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors, testified Thursday that she placed the GPS trackers, used bolt cutters to get through a fence and brought buckets to transport the chickens.
Prosecutor Matthew Hobson questioned her credibility, noting she had no formal training in agriculture or with government agencies such as the USDA. Despite her claims of investigating animal cruelty, he said, she notified Rosenberg — not law enforcement — about her findings.
Hobson also pressed Deerbrook on her continued ties to the activist group, suggesting she was not an impartial witness.
Proceedings ended Thursday with Deerbrook still on the stand. She was expected to return Friday morning as Rosenberg’s second defense witness, following testimony earlier in the week from Direct Action Everywhere member Carla Cabral, who said Rosenberg brought her the chickens after they were taken from the facility.
