ST. GEORGE, Utah, Oct. 9, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — Two animal activists charged with a 2017 burglary and the theft of two piglets from a Milford farm have been found not guilty.
The jury, in St. George, reached a verdict Saturday.
The men charged were Paul Picklesimer, 44, and Wayne Hansen Hsiung, 41, both of Northern California. Three more members of the activist group Direct Action Everywhere originally were charged, but charges were dismissed before they went to trial.
The activist group hailed the ruling as a victory.
“The jury in the #SmithfieldTrial has just set a powerful precedent for the #RightToRescue by UNANIMOUSLY finding Wayne and Paul NOT GUILTY of burglary or theft for the rescue of Lily and Lizzie,” says a post on the group’s Facebook page.
Picklesimer and Hsiung had admitted to being part of a group of five activists who entered the Smithfield Foods facility, Circle Four Farms in Milford. The group removed two piglets in what it called a rescue mission, saying both piglets were malnourished and sick, according to reports.
The men shot video of the break in and piglet theft, and shared it with The New York Times. The suspects were identified from that video.
