Right To Rescue
Historic “Right to Rescue” trials could open the floodgates to a radical new view of animals under the law.
Historic “Right to Rescue” trials could open the floodgates to a radical new view of animals under the law.
Right now, activists with Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) are facing years in prison for rescuing animals from abuse at factory farms, slaughterhouses, and a beagle experimentation facility. These legal cases present a powerful opportunity to elevate the stories of farmed animals to the public and expose the industry. In October 2022, DxE activists won the first-ever “not guilty” verdict for an open rescue case in the #SmithfieldTrial. Just five months later, we won the second acquittal for open rescue in the #FosterFarmsTrial. These acquittals were major wins for the Right to Rescue, but our work is far from over. We have more trials coming up and we need your help to use these cases to spark a revolution for animal rescue and animal rights.
The latest "Right to Rescue" trial ended on November 2, 2023 with animal rescuer Wayne Hsiung found guilty on 3 of 4 charges. This includes felony conspiracy and misdemeanor trespass from the mass open rescue at Sunrise Farms in 2018 and misdemeanor trespass from the mass action at Reichardt Duck Farm in 2019. The jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on the felony conspiracy charge from the Reichardt action, resulting in a “hung jury” mistrial on that charge. Wayne was cuffed and immediately taken into custody awaiting sentencing.
On November 30th, Wayne was sentenced to 90 days in jail followed by 24 months of probation. Judge Laura Passaglia also ordered him to have NO CONTACT in any form with the other named “co-conspirators” in the case, a list including many of his closest friends and one of his co-defendants in a beagle rescue trial scheduled for March.
Right after the sentencing hearing, three other DxE animal rescuers were arrested on felony warrants outside the courthouse. Read the press here. Conrad De Jesus and Rocky Chau are each charged with one count of felony conspiracy and two counts of misdemeanor trespass for a factory farm investigation. Zoe Rosenberg is charged with a total of 7 felonies and 6 misdemeanors for multiple investigations. There may also be warrants out for other investigators. It seems there will be another #SonomaRescueTrial.
Learn more about the case at RightToRescue.com and on the Sonoma Rescue Trial Twitter account here.
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