A pro-life activist in Tennessee told House members Wednesday that FBI agents improperly searched her home in what Republicans are calling a pattern of weaponization at President Joe Biden's Department of Justice (DOJ).
Paul Vaughn testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government with attorney Steve Crampton on the Freedom of Clinic Admissions (FACE) Act. and Erin Hawley, senior advisor at the Alliance Defending Freedom. testified The hearing focused on a 1994 law that prohibits “forced intimidation, obstruction, and property damage” to prevent access to abortion clinics. According to to the Department of Justice. This law also applies to anti-pregnancy resource centers.
Vaughn, the father of 11-year-old Christian, faces charges stemming from protests at an abortion clinic in Tennessee in March 2021. Prosecutors charged him under both FACE and the Conspiracy Against the Rights Act, a Reconstruction-era law originally intended to protect black Americans' voting rights. . (Related: Pro-life activist targeted by Biden administration escapes prison)
The Biden-Harris Administration misused the FACE Act to target pro-lifers.
watch chairman @RepChipRoyThe opening statement details these injustices. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/HXv8PJ×veC
— House Judiciary Republican 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@JudiciaryGOP) December 18, 2024
Although Vaughn protested peacefully, he was sentenced to three years of supervised release and six months of home confinement, according to the Thomas More Society. noticed.
“On October 5, 2022, at approximately 7:15 a.m., my home was attacked, my wife and children were terrorized, and I was kidnapped at gunpoint by four armed men. ” Vaughn said in testimony obtained by The Daily. The person who called.
Vaughn said she eventually learned that three of her children had been restrained in the backyard by a fourth agent. When Vaux asked for identification, the agent reportedly pointed to an “FBI” badge and yelled that it was the “only identification” Vaux would receive.
“The moment I was handcuffed, I became a slave to ideological tyrants, armed tyrants, or tyrants who obey them,” he told the committee.
Despite attacks on pro-life pregnancy resource centers, the Justice Department largely cracked down on pro-life activists in response to the Supreme Court's 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade.
The Caller previously exposed how the Biden administration unfairly targeted pro-life protesters. (Related article: Kash Patel wants the FBI to step back from spying — this is a good place to start)
“The Biden Justice Department has weaponized this law to target pro-life advocates.” – ADF’s Erin Hawley, testifying minutes earlier at a House subcommittee hearing on the FACE Act pic.twitter.com/TIidThAjSg
— Alliance Defending Freedom (@ADFLegal) December 18, 2024
Over the FACE Act's 30-year history, roughly 97% of the 211 lawsuits were against pro-life activists, according to Justice Department data.
“We are pleased that Congress has taken the abuses of the FACE Act seriously and alerted the American people to the outrageous nature of Paul Vaughn's arrest and prosecution,” said Crampton, senior counsel for the Thomas More Society. said. Statement to caller. “There is still much work to do to rein in this out-of-control regime, but today was a big step forward.”
Conspiracy to Rights charges are used to increase sentences for people who allegedly violate the FACE Act.
Sanjay Patel, a trial attorney with the Civil Rights Division's Criminal Division, argued for the charge to be used in tandem with the FACE Act. In an article published in the Department of Justice Journal of Federal Law Practice, Mr Patel tried to justify the conspiracy charge by claiming there were multiple “benefits”.
Patel said that under the law, “the government does not have to demonstrate overt acts or substantive steps in advancing the agreement.”
Mr. Bourne and Mr. Crampton asked Congress to review the conspiracy charges along with the FACE Act. Vaughn's testimony also detailed that he had been on federal parole supervision for more than two years and faced the imminent prospect of spending 10 years in prison.
“[The] The process is the punishment,” Vaughn said, noting that he avoided prison.
That was good @DailyCaller I have a receipt:
Less than four years later, Biden's Justice Department has accounted for more than a quarter of all FACE prosecutions and about 24% of cases targeting pro-life activists. https://t.co/rPEZ1SxrJ9
— Alien (Erin) Van Natta🇺🇸 (@evannatta1776) November 19, 2024
But other pro-life activists weren't so lucky.
Paula Harlow prayed silently at an abortion clinic. declared The 75-year-old was sentenced to 24 months in prison in May for his “role in a conspiracy” to prevent access to the clinic. Pro-life activist Lauren Handy declared Sentenced to 57 months in prison and an additional three years of supervision.
“The government has been given a weapon against our people,” Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said at the hearing.
