{"id":297504,"date":"2023-08-29T18:02:45","date_gmt":"2023-08-29T23:02:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=297504"},"modified":"2023-08-30T21:33:59","modified_gmt":"2023-08-31T02:33:59","slug":"defendants-dc-face-act-detained-convicted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/defendants-dc-face-act-detained-convicted\/","title":{"rendered":"Defendants in DC FACE Act trial convicted and detained"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cLong live rescue!\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

That was the rallying cry of pro-lifers amid tears in response to Tuesday\u2019s verdict against five rescuers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As Live Action News <\/span>reported<\/span><\/a>, five defendants \u2013 Lauren Handy, Herb Geraghty, Heather Idoni, Will Goodman, and John Hinshaw \u2013 were found guilty of conspiring to violate civil rights and blocking access to notorious abortionist Cesare Santangelo\u2019s clinic in October of 2020.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The case seemed to reflect an attempt by the administration of President Biden, who claims to be a practicing Catholic, to protect abortion after the Supreme Court\u2019s decision in <\/span>Dobbs<\/span><\/i>. Each defendant faces up to 11 years in prison.<\/span><\/p>\n

The jury convicted each defendant of violating a conspiracy law and the FACE Act, which the administration has touted as part of its <\/span>post-Roe<\/em> strategy<\/span><\/a>. Government attorney Sanjay Patel, who was condescending in some of his remarks, had just failed to obtain a conviction for pro-lifer Mark Houck. Handy and the others, however, were convicted under FACE with two counts surrounding both the use of force and physical obstruction.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tuesday\u2019s hearing ended with U.S. marshals taking defendants through a side door after the DOJ requested incarceration. From the gallery, cries of \u201clong live rescue,\u201d \u201cwe love you,\u201d and descriptions of the defendants as heroes could be heard as they were taken away. Goodman, who had his hands behind his back, had asked after the verdict for prayers and forgiveness for both the jury and prosecutors. <\/span><\/p>\n

After the verdict was read, Geraghty\u2019s attorney John Kiyonaga asked to poll the jury and each responded by concurring with the verdict.<\/span><\/p>\n

Idoni\u2019s, Geraghty\u2019s, and Handy\u2019s attorneys have said they will pursue appeals. Thomas More Society counsel Martin Cannon, who was defending Handy, said, \u201cWe are, of course, disappointed with the outcome. Ms. Handy has been condemned for her efforts to protect the lives of innocent preborn human beings. We are preparing an appeal and will continue to defend those who fight for life against a Biden Department of Justice that seems intent on prosecuting those who decry abortion and present it as it is \u2014 the intentional killing of children in utero.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As Live Action News has noted, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly dismissed Live Action\u2019s footage of Santangelo as “gossip” and attempted to correct Geraghty in response to a factual assertion about federal law.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n