Pro-life activist Lauren Handy was sentenced Tuesday to four years and nine months in federal prison and three years of supervised release for attempting to prevent abortions by blocking the entrance to a Washington, D.C., abortion clinic in 2020. received the verdict.
Handy, 30, was found guilty by a D.C. federal jury last year, along with several other pro-life activists, of violating the Free Clinic Admissions Act (FACE) and “conspiracy against rights.” Up to 11 years in prison and a $350,000 fine; according to to President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ). Prosecutors had asked for a maximum sentence of six-and-a-half years in prison for Handy, who has been in prison since his conviction. Handy, an attorney for the pro-life group Thomas More Society, asked for a more lenient sentence of 12 months. Her sentence will include time served in prison.
Handy’s nine co-defendants are Jonathan Darnell, Jay Smith, John Hinshaw, William Goodman, Joan Bell, Paulette Harlow, Gene Marshall, Heather Idoni, and Herb Geraghty.
Fellow participant and pro-life activist John Hinshaw was also sentenced Tuesday to 21 months in federal prison under the FACE Act. Mr. Smith was sentenced to 10 months in prison last year, and Mr. Hinshaw, Mr. Idoni and Mr. Goodman were scheduled to be sentenced on Tuesday. Darnell Jelagussy, Marshall and Bell are scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday, and Harlow is scheduled to be sentenced May 31. according to To the Associated Press.
🚨🚨 John Hinshaw was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison under the FACE Act. #obsoleteFACE
— Teresa Bukovinak (@Terrisalin) May 14, 2024
The Biden Justice Department is unfairly targeting 74-year-old Joan Bell, who peacefully protected her newborn baby from being brutally murdered in the womb. Despite her non-violent actions, they are trying to keep her in prison for her maximum 11 years.
Joanne is known as the “pro-life matriarch.” pic.twitter.com/5myn3GUM8X
— Live Action (@LiveAction) September 15, 2023
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. There is.
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
“The one thing Ms. Handy and her co-defendants were united by was nonviolence. handed down a judgment. 57 months – almost 5 years He is in prison,” Thomas More Society senior adviser Martin Cannon said in a statement.
“For her efforts to peacefully protect the lives of innocent newborn human beings, Mr. Handy deserves our gratitude, but it’s not something to be angry about. It’s a prison sentence,” Cannon continued. “We intend to vigorously pursue Mr. Handy’s appeal of his conviction and attack the root cause of this injustice, the FACE Act. The FACE Act is unconstitutional and persecutes peaceful pro-lifers. I don’t think it should ever be used again.”
Related Article — Commentary: Justice Department uses KKK-era accusations to extend sentences of pro-life activists
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sanjay Patel claimed during the trial that Handy, an activist with the Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising (PAAU), planned the “invasion” of a Washington surgical clinic in October 2020. Abortion. according to After calling WUSA 9, Handy and other activists obtained access to the clinic by making an appointment under the name “Hazel Jenkins.” Prosecutors argued that a nurse at the clinic sprained her ankle during the protest and that activists blocked the woman from entering the clinic.
“Some people are simply kneeling in prayer at the Sant’Angelo facility, others are distributing pro-life literature and counseling women considering abortion, and others are tied up with ropes and chains inside the facility. Mr. Handy’s attorney at the Thomas More Society, which represents other groups, said.Pro-life activists like mark huck and david daleiden.
WATCH: Left-wing pro-life activists demand D.C. mayor investigate 5 possible infanticide cases:
Matt Purdy/Breitbart News
In March 2022, the Department of Justice indicted Handy and eight others on charges of conspiracy to violate rights and violating the FACE Act. ” The Justice Department’s indictment came the same month that Handy and PAAU founder and former executive director Teresa Bukovinac were indicted. allegedly discovered The bodies of approximately 115 aborted babies in a trash can at the Washington Surgical Clinic. Five They allege some of the babies may have been partially aborted or killed after birth, in violation of federal law. The District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department previously told Breitbart News that it is investigating the discovery of the infant, but not the clinic’s abortionist, Dr. Cesare Santangelo.
RELATED: Washington, D.C. inspector general halts planned disposition of late-term aborted babies after pressure campaign
U.S. District Judge Colleen Koller-Kottery; The person presiding over the trial prohibited Handy’s lawyers from using legal means. 2013 Undercover Video The film, published by Live Action Inc., allegedly recorded Santangelo saying that he would not help with a baby born alive after a failed abortion. Handy’s lawyer argued that the video was “essential to understanding Lauren’s motives on that day in October 2020.” Koller Coterie also did not allow video and photographic evidence of 115 aborted babies to be used as evidence. Ban Defendants could not argue that their actions were protected by the First Amendment or were done to protect a third party, the unborn child.
During her sentencing, Koller-Kotely reportedly said that the actions of Handy and other activists showed indifference to women seeking abortions and that abortion was a “human need.”[s]”
“Neither you nor the other co-conspirators showed any sympathy or empathy for the two women in need of medical care,” Koller-Kotely said. Said. “Frankly, your opinion took precedence over their human needs.”
Handy sent a statement to PAAU Tuesday morning before her sentencing, citing the joy that has sustained her while awaiting sentencing in Alexandria, Virginia.
“It has been nearly nine months since I was suddenly separated from my community. Because of this, I thought long and hard about what to say about today’s sentencing in federal court. Full of anger and righteousness. There were some drafts, but most of them were tearful thoughts for their loved ones back home,” Handy said.
“Yes, this time has been tough, but I won’t get tired. Why? Because life goes on…even if I’m in prison. So I might as well keep on loving and crying and screaming and dancing.” she continued. “It’s a joy. The feeling of living to your fullest without shame. That can’t be taken away from me in any courtroom. So today I feel at peace with myself and my future. I’m at peace with my head. I will approach the courtroom with my heart held high and my heart open.”
Bukovinac accused the Biden administration and the Justice Department of reaching a “new level of tyranny.”
“There is no other social justice movement in our country whose activists spend years in federal prison for nonviolent resistance. , and has an immeasurable impact on peace activists in movements around the world. I continue to stand with Lauren and the other eight defendants who risked their freedom to protect the least of us. I do,” she said.
Since the Supreme Court Dobbs This decision resulted in the Justice Department prosecuting pro-life activists more than pro-abortion activists under the FACE Act, even though FBI Director Christopher Wray served as FBI director. Admitted In November 2022, it was found that since the Dobbs decision, approximately 70 percent of abortion-related violence threats in the United States have been directed against pro-life organizations.
Deputy Attorney General Vanita Gupta Also Admitted In December, in 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 lawful access to reproductive services.”
Asheville, North Carolina: On June 7, the Mountain Regional Pregnancy Services office was attacked and destroyed. #antifa The group “Jane’s Revenge” was written on the building. Blood stains were also found, possibly from the vandal who had broken the glass and injured himself.https://t.co/icZMbS4kLy pic.twitter.com/9k6qmksyzP
— Andy Ngo 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) June 7, 2022
out of dozens and dozens Number of subsequent attacks on pregnancy centers Dobbs According to the leak, only a handful of pro-abortion activists have been arrested in states such as Florida, New York and Ohio.
Merrick Garland says the Justice Department has prosecuted more pro-lifers for peacefully protesting at abortion clinics than domestic terrorists firebombing pregnancy resource centers. Because pro-lifers operate during the day and centers are bombed at night. pic.twitter.com/8abeyZiHLX
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 1, 2023
When asked by Republicans in March 2023 about apparent enforcement inconsistencies, Merrick Garland said that pro-abortion activists tend to strike at night, while pro-life activists commit crimes “during the day.” He claimed that more pro-life activists are being prosecuted for committing crimes.
with Congressman Roy @senmikelee I have a bill that would repeal the FACE Act once and for all👇 https://t.co/3ALvYFq35w pic.twitter.com/pt9lS1Uail
— Rep. Chip Roy Press Office (@RepChipRoy) May 14, 2024
Pro-life activists and some Republican lawmakers are calling for the repeal of the FACE Act, arguing that the Biden administration has repeatedly used the 1994 law as a weapon against political opponents.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her at @thekat_Hamilton.
