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judge appointed by clinton Pro-life activist Lauren Handy was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison and three years of supervision for peacefully speaking out in support of the lives lost and threatened at a notorious late-term abortion clinic in the nation’s capital. He was sentenced to a year in prison.
U.S. District Judge Colleen Koller Kotelly’s strong ruling in Handy came just a year short of Biden’s ruling.
clearly pro-abortion The Justice Department’s claims have been roundly criticized by Republicans and other pro-life activists.
“Meanwhile, the abortionists who dismembered and murdered children are set free. A grave injustice!”
The Thomas More Society, which represented Ms. Handy in this case, is seeking not only to overturn Ms. Handy’s conviction, but also to challenge the constitutionality of the Freedom of Admissions Act, which she was enshrined under the law. He indicated his intention to proceed with the appeal on his behalf. She was found guilty in August.
Other pro-life rescue workers who took part in peaceful protests in 2020 are also likely to be sent to prison, including John Hinshaw, who was sentenced to 21 months in prison on Tuesday.
background
Handy, 30, is director of activities and mutual aid for the Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising.
According to the websitePAAU is “committed to the progressive feminist values of equality, nonviolence, and nondiscrimination through an anticapitalist lens.…We have unparalleled courage and are committed to challenging the oppressive status quo through an anti-capitalist lens. We are committed to ending selective abortion, no matter how long it takes.”
Blaze News previously reported that Handy and four other PAAU activists, John Hinshaw, Heather Idoni, William Goodman and Herb Geraghty, allegedly blocked access to the Washington Surgical Clinic on October 22, 2020. Last year, we reported that he was found guilty of violating the FACE Act. , run by late-term abortionist Cesare Santangelo.
The FACE law prohibits obstructing the entrance to an abortion clinic or threatening or interfering with a woman attempting to abort her fetus.
Biden Justice Department
claimed Handy “participated in a blockade of the clinic directed by Handy and broadcast on Facebook. Once the lockdown was established, footage of the activity was live-streamed.
Heritage Foundation Legal Analyst
nNote “Congress has stated that the FACE Act includes the “Free Speech or Free Exercise Clause,” which “protects any act of expression (including peaceful picketing and other peaceful demonstrations) from legal prohibition under the First Amendment. shall not be prohibited.” “Outside the facility”
Handy’s defense also characterized the incident as a “rescue and protest” and noted that she was under a unique impression.
Undercover video Live Action magazine reported that Santangelo not only performed abortions, but also left newborn infants to die.
Koller-Kotely ultimately argued that “defendants cannot wear vigilante hoods” and argue that their protests are protected by the First Amendment. It was prohibited to claim that the protest was carried out to protect third parties. Judge Clinton is
punish the nun It also prevented the defense from showing undercover footage from 2012 of the defendant making the sign of the cross that prompted Handy’s attempt to intervene for fear of biasing the jury.
Handy was found guilty of violating the FACE Act and conspiracy against rights and spent nine months in prison pending sentencing.
sentencing
The Biden Justice Department sentenced Handy to six-and-a-half years in prison, alleging that Handy was one of the “masterminds who selected the clinic, promoted the event, recruited participants, and planned the crime” against Kohler-Kotely. I asked him to give it to me.
report Washington Examiner.
Handy defense instead
Asked The one-year prison sentence said the case was a peaceful set of events that involved “an attempt to rescue newborn children from imminent death at the hands of an abortionist who Ms. Handy believed had performed an illegal late-term procedure.” Emphasized nature.
Judge Clinton reportedly expressed concern that Mr. Handy’s protests prevented several prospective patients, including a woman in labor, from entering the clinic promptly.
“Frankly, your opinion took precedence over their human needs,” Koller-Kotely said, clearly downplaying the human needs that are more deeply ignored within the clinic.
Prosecutors also persuaded the judge that the protest was not peaceful because a clinic nurse allegedly sprained her ankle when one of Handy’s co-defendants entered the clinic. It seems so.
report New York Post.
Collar-Kelly argued that Handy was not being punished for his pro-life beliefs, but for his own actions, saying, “The law does not and should protect acts of violence and sabotage.” Not,” he said.
response
The results infuriated Republicans, women’s groups, and pro-life activists who ostensibly agreed that the FACE Act was no longer welcome, especially after it was used as a weapon against pro-life activists by the Biden Justice Department.
Live action president lyla rose
I got it. Handy was “just sentenced to 57 months in federal prison for giving roses and supplies to women at abortion facilities.”[.] Meanwhile, the abortionist who murdered the child by dismembering her is released. This is a grave injustice! ”
“Today’s outrageous 57-month prison sentence for a progressive pro-life activist is a result of Biden’s Justice Department’s professional “This is a stark reminder that it has been fully weaponized against the pro-life American public.” They use the FACE method to do this. ”
“House Republicans must defund the Department of Justice’s weaponization, repeal the FACE Act, and defend our freedom to exercise,” Roy said.
‘MS. Handy deserves gratitude, but it’s not a heart-wrenching prison sentence. ”
“This verdict against Lauren Hardy of @PAAUNOW is a tragic injustice,” said Penny Nance, CEO of Concerned Women for America. “In policy and practice, the FACE Act is an unjust law that should be repealed. It is an unconstitutional violation of state police powers, and the Biden administration is using it most blatantly to attack its political opponents. There is.”
Mr. Martin Cannon, Senior Advisor, Thomas More Society;
Said “The only thing that brought Mr. Handy and his co-defendants together was nonviolence. They conspired to be peaceful,” the statement said.
“Mr. Handy deserves our gratitude for his efforts to peacefully protect the lives of innocent newborn human beings, but not for a heart-wrenching prison sentence,” Cannon continued. “We will vigorously pursue Mr. Handy’s appeal of his conviction and attack the root cause of this injustice, the FACE Act. This law is unconstitutional and will never be used again to persecute peaceful pro-lifers. We believe it should not be taken advantage of.”
Steve Crampton, senior advisor for the Thomas More Society, added: “The remains of several late-term aborted infants discovered by Ms. Handy and her associates, known as the ‘DC Five,’ “It highlights the truth of Ms Handy’s concerns.” Abortionist Cesare Santangelo is likely in violation of the Live Infant Protection Act by refusing to provide life-saving care to an infant born alive as a result of an attempted abortion. ”
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