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photo credit: DxE via Bay City NewsWayne Hsiung is arrested at Sunrise Farms in Petaluma on May 29, 2018.
The court reversed the felony conspiracy charge and one misdemeanor trespass charge for Direct Action Everywhere, or DxE, co-founder Wayne Hsiung, the organization said.
The animal rights group said the court rejected the prosecutor's argument that animals are to be categorically excluded from a "necessity defense."
A necessity defense argues that a person committed a crime only to prevent a greater harm.
Hsiung's attorney argued that the jury was not allowed to see evidence related to his claim that his actions were legally justified under the necessity defense.
"We agree with defendant that the trial court erroneously limited his presentation of evidence to the jury related to his two-prong mistake of law defense," reads the ruling.
The court also reversed his count of conspiracy to commit trespass by refusing to leave private property and his count of trespassing with intent to interfere with lawful business.
The Sonoma County District Attorney's Office said it is aware of the ruling and is reviewing it, but had no further comment on Thursday.
Hsiung was sentenced in November 2023 to 90 days in jail and two years probation after he and other members of DxE converged on Sunrise Farms in Petaluma on May 29, 2018 to protest and remove chickens.
The group did the same thing on June 3, 2019 at the Reichardt Duck Farm, also in Petaluma. Hsiung supported the protesters and spoke with law enforcement at the scene.
Hsiung said that taking animals from a factory farm is exercising a "right to rescue" law, akin to the legal right to break into a car to rescue a dog in hot temperatures. The organization is hoping to make legal the right of people to enter places such as a factory farm to remove animals that are being "exploited" or are in distress.
"That the court has reversed the majority of Mr. Hsiung's convictions just a matter of days after argument is a major rebuke to a trial that we have always insisted was riddled with legal and factual errors," said Justin Marceau, director of the Animal Activist Legal Defense Project at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, who argued the appeal. "The court has notably rejected the state's argument that animals are categorically excluded from a necessity defense. This is a significant victory for animal protection and the rights of animal activists to defend them."
Prosecutors said Hsiung and others effectively shut down farm operations at both locations and chained themselves to fixtures at the duck farm.
DxE activist Zoe Rosenberg was found guilty in October 2025 of felony conspiracy and misdemeanor counts of trespassing and tampering with a vehicle for entering Petaluma Poultry -- a subsidiary of Perdue Foods -- in June 2023.
According to prosecutors, Rosenberg carefully planned out an illegal chicken heist, complete with disguises, tracking devices, stealing business records, and a safe house. According to DxE, the chickens were rescued from inhumane conditions and her trespassing was a moral imperative.
