Step aside, Big Tech. The federal government might have a new antitrust target in its sights — Big Chicken.

The Justice Department on Friday intervened in a class-action lawsuit that claims some of the biggest American poultry companies, including Tyson Foods and Pilgrim’s Pride, conspired to manipulate chicken prices. In a court filing, the Justice Department asked the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to halt the discovery process for six months as it pursues a criminal investigation.

Price-fixing claims against the chicken producers have been floating around for years, in suits like the one in Illinois, but the government’s involvement is a potentially significant escalation because it means criminal charges could follow.

The filing itself does not guarantee that the government is going to bring charges, but it does suggest that the government is strongly considering them, said Peter C. Carstensen, an antitrust expert at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Law School.