Sentencing for Zoe Rosenberg
Will Zoe Rosenberg go to jail? After a long trial, the 23-year-old animal rights activist is returning to the Sonoma County Courthouse in Northern California to learn her fate and be sentenced for her role in the headline-making rescue of 4 chickens from a Perdue-owned slaughterhouse. UnchainedTV is live at the courthouse. Rosenberg is expected to speak before entering court. Hundreds of supporters from Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) and other advocacy groups are reportedly gathering to show support for her as a person and her crusade to expose the cruelties of industrialized animal agriculture, conditions her supporters argue the jury was not allowed to see for themselves.
Watch as we also bring you the post-sentencing news conference LIVE with notable speakers, including Farm Sanctuary President Gene Baur, Animal Equality President Sharon Núñez and others.
On October 29th, 2025 the jury found Rosenberg guilty of felony conspiracy and three misdemeanors. Prosecutors are recommending she get a 180-day jail sentence. That’s 6 months. Her supporters argue that putting a medically vulnerable activist behind bars is not only unjust, it’s dangerous. Rosenberg has complex medical needs, suffering from lifelong Type 1 diabetes and gastroparesis, a chronic digestive condition that has previously required hospitalization. She wore a feeding tube throughout the trial.
Judge Kenneth Gnoss holds the power to determine Rosenberg’s future. While 180 days is well below the maximum 4.5-year sentence she could receive, any time behind bars raises serious concerns for her health. Prosecutors have claimed she would receive appropriate treatment in custody, including access to medical staff and coordination with her physician. But supporters say jail time could be life-threatening.
Rosenberg’s arrest and prosecution have gained national media attention and high-profile support. Oscar-winning actor Joaquin Phoenix called the prosecution a “moral failure,” urging Sonoma County officials to investigate the detailed allegations of animal cruelty at the Perdue-owned slaughterhouse—not the people who attempt to stop it. Rosenberg says she and DxE repeatedly urged law enforcement to investigate what she called “criminal animal cruelty” at the slaughterhouse, offering evidence, only to see authorities do nothing. The four chickens Rosenberg rescued—later named Poppy, Ivy, Aster, and Azalea—were taken to safety at a sanctuary and have become symbols of the movement championing the “open rescue” of animals due to the conditions they endure in massive factory farms and slaughterhouses. Perdue denies the cruelty allegations, insisting they operate within the law. The company is invited on any time to comment.
UnchainedTV has reported LIVE on every day of the trial, from start to finish. Now, the network is back for the most crucial day of all with an expert panel led by UnchainedTV host Jane Velez-Mitchell, with attorney Justine Block, Action Hour host Lindsey Baker, The Save Movement’s Paige Parsons Roache, former law enforcement investigator Tiffany Brunelli, Animal Alliance Network’s Ellen Dent and reporter Matthew Zirbel at the courthouse.
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