A CALIFORNIA COURT OF APPEALS overturned two convictions for an animal rights activist who was found guilty of felony conspiracy and trespassing stemming from actions he took at Petaluma chicken and duck farms in 2018 and 2019, animal rights organization Direction Action Everywhere said Thursday.  

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.” 

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Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.