On Tuesday, six pro-life activists were found guilty of “conspiracy against rights” and violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinics Act (FACE) for peaceful protests outside Tennessee abortion facilities in 2021. .
Those convicted include Paul Bourne, 55, father of 11-year-old Christian, and Chester Gallagher, 73, joining a growing list of fathers and elderly・President Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) is threatening. Up to 11 years in prison.
President Joe Biden’s pro-abortion administration announced In October 2022, it announced the indictment of 11 activists involved in the March 5, 2021 “blockade” of the Karafem Health Center Clinic in Mount Juliet. Several of the activists were arrested by local police that day on suspicion of misdemeanor trespassing and later released on bail. The clinic has since temporarily suspended in-person services because abortion has since become illegal in Tennessee, with limited exceptions. according to Go to that website.
Lawyers for the activists said they were conducting a “rescue” and gathered on the second floor of the office building that houses the clinic to pray, sing hymns and appeal to women not to have abortions.There were also peaceful protests live streaming on facebookaccording to Catholic News Agency (CNA).
“Obviously we are disappointed in this outcome,” said Steve Crampton, senior counsel for the Thomas More Society and attorney for Paul Vaughan.
This was a peaceful demonstration by completely peaceful citizens who prayed, sang hymns, and offered prayers aimed at persuading pregnant mothers not to abort their babies. Unfortunately, the Biden Justice Department has labeled Paul Vaughn’s peaceful actions a felony “conspiracy against rights” and has decided to intimidate and punish Paul and other pro-life people and people of faith. .
“The Biden Justice Department’s pattern of arresting and prosecuting peaceful pro-life activists is alarming,” Crampton added, pointing to criticism of the FBI’s alleged targeting of pro-life activists. did. flood of attacks Pro-life centers and churches by pro-abortion activists following Supreme Court ruling Dobbs decision.
According to City Hall on October 7, 2022. report, Mr. Vaughn was not arrested in the protests. Instead, he “sought to mediate” between activists and police to “ensure everyone’s safety,” the report said. Yet, in the early morning hours of October 5, 2022, armed FBI agents arrested him at his home in front of his wife and children.
🚨 One of the pro-life leaders targeted by Biden’s Justice Department sent me footage of an early morning FBI raid on his family home. Paul Vaughn was handcuffed by armed FBI agents in front of his children just before leaving school. Watch as his wife demands answers during his arrest. https://t.co/lUP6tJOSzW pic.twitter.com/XeYComC6mZ
— Mia Cathell (@MiaCathell) October 7, 2022
Vaughan told the outlet that his family was not informed of his whereabouts until six hours after his arrest, saying:He was taken into federal custody, taken before a judge and charged, then released 60 miles from his Hickman County home without his wallet or cell phone, the report said.
The case is reminiscent of the arrest and Justice Department threat of 11 years in prison for Mark Hawk, a pro-life activist and Catholic father of seven. The Ministry of Justice decided to charge Mr. Houk on October 13, 2021, after he was escorted into the family planning system twice, despite local authorities refusing to press charges. Houk said he pushed his escort, Bruce Love, 73, because he yelled abusively at his 12-year-old son, who was receiving counseling outside the abortion clinic.
Houk was also arrested by the FBI in the early hours of September 23, 2022, after he was allegedly held at gunpoint in front of his wife and children. Houk was ultimately acquitted in January 2023 and is now on trial, with the judge raising the possibility that the case will never happen.
BREAKING: Pro-life activist Mark Houck found not guilty on federal FAITH Act charges by Biden’s Justice Department for pushing Planned Parenthood attendant who threatened his son while he was receiving counseling on the sidewalk did.
Merrick Garland and Kristen Clark can hold this L. pic.twitter.com/ZEv2oNZ9TB
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) January 30, 2023
As for Chester Gallagher, 73, the Justice Department alleged he used social media to promote a series of pro-life events in the Nashville area, including a “lockdown” of the Calafem Health Center clinic. Pro-life activist AJ Hurley told pro-life group Live Action that Gallagher was not home when the FBI visited him. Neighbors told Hurley that Gallagher was out of state when the FBI “arrived with guns drawn and entered Gallagher’s home.” according to to the report.
“Investigators reportedly learned that Gallagher was not home and attempted to obtain information about his whereabouts from neighbors. The rescue effort at Mount Juliet reportedly began last year. “It was one of three cases led by Mr. Gallagher at various abortion facilities across the country,” the report alleges.
BREAKING NEWS: Pro-life activists Gene Marshall, 73, and Joan Bell, 74, were found guilty of blocking the entrance to an abortion clinic and are now serving 11 years in prison.
It’s good to see the Biden Justice Department remove these hardened criminals from our cities. pic.twitter.com/W4Pysg2xoy
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) September 18, 2023
Two other pro-life activists in their 70s are currently sitting He was sentenced in September 2023 and is in prison for his role in the October 2020 blockade of abortion clinics in Washington, D.C.
pro-life activist joan andrews bell74, and Gene Marshall72, was found guilty of violating the FACE Act and “conspiracy against rights.” block access to Washington Surgical Clinic, a clinic notorious for late-term abortions. Six other pro-life activists involved in the same blockade were also convicted on all charges. All activists involved could face “up to 11 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and fines of up to $350,000.” according to to the Department of Justice.
Biden’s Justice Department is pursuing Eva Edl, an 87-year-old pro-life icon and communist concentration camp survivor who has been arrested more than 40 times for shutting down abortion clinics. pic.twitter.com/KgnoumgejD
— Mia Cathell (@MiaCathell) October 6, 2022
In a recent case in Tennessee, four other activists who have not yet been tried have been charged with violating the FACE Act, which could carry penalties of up to a year in prison and fines of up to $10,000. One of the activists is 87-year-old Eva Edl. report A German survivor of a communist prisoner of war concentration camp during World War II.
This administration has no intention of enforcing laws unless there is a political benefit.
Eva Edl, an 87-year-old communist concentration camp survivor who now lives in Aiken, South Carolina, has been indicted by the federal government for the “serious crime” of singing hymns in the hallway. pic.twitter.com/sJeTyPOdiZ
— Congressman Russell Fry (@RepRussellFry) May 16, 2023
Since the Supreme Court Dobbs Under FBI Director Christopher Wray’s decision, the Justice Department is prosecuting pro-life activists more often than pro-abortion activists under the FBI Act. Admitted As of November 2022, approximately 70% of abortion-related violence threats in the United States Dobbs This decision was against pro-life organizations.
In December 2022, Deputy Attorney General Vanita Gupta will also Admitted In his remarks at a ceremony commemorating the 65th anniversary of the founding of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, Roe vs. Wade It increased the “urgency” of the Department of Justice’s efforts, including “enforcement of the FACE Act to ensure continued legal access to reproductive services.”
In response to these incidents, Congressman Chip Roy (R-TX) introduced A bill to repeal the FACE Act will be enacted in September 2023.Forbidden Threatening with force, obstruction, or property damage intended to interfere with reproductive health care services. ” Roy said the law was created to protect abortion facilities but is instead being used as a weapon by President Joe Biden’s Justice Department to target pro-life activists.
If re-elected, former President Donald Trump has promised to create a task force to review and potentially pardon or commute the sentences of all “political prisoners who have been unfairly persecuted by the Biden administration.”
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her at @thekat_Hamilton.
