{"id":297314,"date":"2023-08-28T12:15:38","date_gmt":"2023-08-28T17:15:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=297314"},"modified":"2023-08-28T11:41:01","modified_gmt":"2023-08-28T16:41:01","slug":"face-act-shady-history-dc-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/face-act-shady-history-dc-trial\/","title":{"rendered":"FACE Act\u2019s shady history casts shadow over ongoing D.C. trial of pro-lifers"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

Jury deliberation has begun in the Biden administration\u2019s prosecution of multiple pro-life activists involved in a 2020 rescue at Washington Surgi-Clinic in Washington, D.C. While the outcome of the case remains unclear, what is clear is that the case illustrates the administration\u2019s zealously pro-abortion agenda.<\/span><\/p>\n

As nonviolent rescuers face a potential 11 years in prison, it\u2019s worth examining how this law is being applied against the pro-life movement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The FACE Act was passed in 1994 and saw multiple prosecutions when Biden was vice president. It appears that after he entered office for a second time, the law\u2019s application saw a resurgence as part of the administration\u2019s post-Roe<\/em> blitz. Just after the Supreme Court\u2019s decision in <\/span>Dobbs<\/span><\/i>, Attorney General Merrick Garland released a <\/span>statement<\/span><\/a> committing to using the FACE Act to protect abortion. Shortly thereafter, his department <\/span>launched<\/span><\/a> a \u201cReproductive Rights Task Force\u201d with an <\/span>announcement<\/span><\/a> that cited FACE.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

By June of 2023, the department <\/span>reported<\/span><\/a> that it had brought 18 cases involving alleged criminal FACE Act violations. Some of these \u2013 like the ongoing case in D.C. \u2013 entailed nonviolent action. Another example of this was Fr. Fidelis Moscinski\u2019s decision to block the entrance to a New York Planned Parenthood. Others involved things like threats, vandalism, and arson of abortion facilities. Despite the massive wave of violence and political vitriol against pro-life pregnancy centers<\/a>, only one of the cases DOJ touted involved that type of organization.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear how the jury will decide the ongoing case in D.C. but in at least one instance, the jury served as a backstop to DOJ\u2019s unjust prosecution of a pro-lifer. As Live Action News <\/span>noted<\/span><\/a>, a jury <\/span>acquitted<\/span><\/a> Mark Houck after the FBI raided his family\u2019s home. Houck\u2019s case has been cited by many as an example of the Biden administration abusing the Clinton-era FACE Act and weaponizing his DOJ.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Earlier this year, several House Republicans requested Congress defund enforcement of FACE and suggested the Biden administration wasn\u2019t trustworthy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Biden Administration has proven time and time again that it cannot be trusted to faithfully implement and enforce the FACE Act, as written by Congress,\u201d Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and 11 other House Republicans.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cUntil such a time,\u201d they continued, \u201cCongress ought to withhold the use of the funds for enforcing this law and seriously consider repealing the statute in its entirety.\u201d Among the signatories were Reps. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz), Daniel Webster (R-Fla.), Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), and others.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As Lauren Handy, one of the D.C. defendants, has indicated, it\u2019s questionable how relevant FACE is in a world where the Supreme Court has struck down <\/span>Roe<\/span><\/i>. Never mind the fact that it hinders potentially life-saving actions from nonviolent activists.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jury deliberation has begun in the Biden administration\u2019s prosecution of multiple pro-life activists involved in a 2020 rescue at Washington Surgi-Clinic in Washington, D.C. While the outcome of the case remains unclear, what is clear is that the case illustrates the administration\u2019s zealously pro-abortion agenda. As nonviolent rescuers face a potential 11 years in prison, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":868,"featured_media":297318,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[2793,15,3473],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nFACE Act\u2019s shady history casts shadow over ongoing D.C. trial of pro-lifers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As nonviolent rescuers face possibly 11 years in prison, it\u2019s worth examining how the FACE Act is applied against the pro-life movement.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/face-act-shady-history-dc-trial\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"FACE Act\u2019s shady 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