On the eve of the 52nd March for Life demonstration on the National Mall, President Donald Trump issued The Biden Justice Department pardons 23 pro-life activists who have been hard-pressed to blockades.
“They should not have been prosecuted,” Trump said. “Many of them are elderly. They should not have been prosecuted. It's a great honor to sign this.”
The president added that the fact that some people are still languishing in prison is “ridiculous.”
Those pardoned were apparently all convicted of:
Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrance LawTexas Rep. Chip Roy (R) and other Republicans have long called for its repeal.
Roy told Blaze News ahead of the pardon that President Trump “intends to pardon brave pro-life Americans who have been unfairly targeted by Biden's weaponized Justice Department.” “It was amazing news,” he said. These Americans were peaceful, pro-life Americans, and they were singled out. They are excluded and targeted by the government simply because of their beliefs. ”
“Get them out of the camp.”
The pardon is
prompted By the Thomas More Society and Republican Congressmen Roy, Senator Josh Hawley (month) and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (Florida) — This is just another promise the president kept. proposed In a June 22 speech at the Faith and Freedom Coalition, he said he would pardon peaceful pro-life activists like Paulette Harlow. declared Despite suffering from a debilitating medical condition, he was sentenced to two years in prison by a Clinton-appointed judge.
After taking office, Trump said he would “quickly investigate the cases of all political prisoners who were unjustly victimized by the Biden administration, including Paulette, and release them from concentration camps and return them to their families where they belong.” I swore.
The FACE Act, ratified by President Bill Clinton in 1994, was supposed to protect access to churches and abortion facilities alike, but was ultimately locked up by the Biden Justice Department for peaceful pro-life protesters. was used as a weapon to Joan Bell, 76 years old. John Hinshaw, 69 years old. Lauren Handy, director of the Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising; and concentration camp survivor Eva Edl.
The FACE Act has been used almost exclusively against pro-life activists in recent years, even as attacks by abortion extremists on churches and pregnancy centers have increased significantly in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
Dobbs decision.
“I wish someone from my country would have loved Jesus enough to risk their freedom or even their life and gather in front of that train.”
daily caller
reported In July, 205 lawsuits were filed against pro-life activists under the FACE Act from 1994 to 2024, and only six were filed against abortion activists. Announced. Of the 55 cases prosecuted so far under the Biden administration, only five are reportedly related to attacks on pregnancy resource centers.
“97 percent of FACE Act prosecutions from 1994 to 2024 were initiated against pro-life Americans,” Roy told Blaze News. “It is laughable to claim that the law has not been weaponized. ” he said.
Since 2021, 21 pro-life activists have been convicted and 10 imprisoned.
Despite being disproportionately and enthusiastically targeted by the Justice Department, pro-life advocates appeared satisfied with their decision.
In the end, he was sentenced to three years' probation, but Edol
was convicted of a crime Blaze Media co-founder talks about FACE Act violation in April 2024 glenn beck In August, she announced she was prepared to die in prison for speaking out for her unborn child.
“Congress must also take steps to repeal the FACE Act.”
“When I was a child and I was shoved into that bullock cart, tied so tightly that I almost suffocated, I wish someone in my country loved Jesus enough to risk their freedom and even their life. I wish we had.’ We gathered in front of that train and stood on the tracks to prevent us from being sent there,” Edle said.
“Well, this is basically what I do,” Edol continued. “When I stand in front of the clinic door, I'm just buying time for the counselor on the sidewalk to approach these women in a gentle, quiet way and touch their hearts.”
Congressman Roy introduced law A bill to repeal the law in September 2023 (parallel to a companion bill in the Senate by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah)) said at the time, “Free Americans should not be held accountable for their beliefs. fear that the government will target them No one should live in fear. Yet Biden's Justice Department brazenly weaponizes the FACE Act against ordinary, everyday Americans across the political spectrum simply because they are pro-life. ”
Roy, who?
reintroduced He, who introduced his repeal bill on Tuesday, told Blaze News that Thursday's pardon was “a huge step toward righting the wrongs done under the Biden administration,” but that “Congress also needs to “We must take steps to repeal the FACE Act to ensure it is never again weaponized by criminals.” management. ”
Lee is preparing another companion bill for the Senate.
said The Daily Signal said earlier this week, “While President Trump halts these extrajudicial prosecutions, we must ensure that future administrations do not have the ability to persecute Americans through the unequal application of the law.” said.
Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life Action and Students for Life of America, said:
claimed earlier “It's clear that President Trump no longer wants to stand against pro-lifers,” he said. FACE Act Repeal Act Reintroduced by Roy on Tuesday. states“The hypocrisy could not be more obvious than ignoring violent pro-abortion protesters and focusing on peaceful pro-life prayer warriors. “This abuse represents viewpoint discrimination because the penalties are exceeded because of the beliefs of those who are. This abuse must be stopped by pro-abortion attacks by prosecutors.”
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