{"id":298458,"date":"2023-09-11T21:09:11","date_gmt":"2023-09-12T02:09:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=298458"},"modified":"2023-09-14T20:45:39","modified_gmt":"2023-09-15T01:45:39","slug":"first-day-witness-face-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/first-day-witness-face-trial\/","title":{"rendered":"Witness testimony begins in FACE Act trial of second set of pro-life defendants"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Today marked the first day of witness testimony in the trial against three pro-life activists \u2013 Joan Andrews Bell, Jonathan Darnel, and Jean Marshall \u2013 who were indicted for their participation in an October 2020 <\/span>rescue action<\/span><\/a> at the D.C.-based Washington Surgi-Clinic (WSC), which is run by abortionist <\/span>Cesare Santangelo<\/span><\/a>. They are charged<\/a> with conspiracy against rights and a FACE (Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances) Act offense.<\/span><\/p>\n

The day\u2019s proceedings were remarkably similar to early proceedings in the <\/span>trial<\/span><\/a> against the five previous defendants who were indicted in connection with the same rescue action \u2013 Lauren Handy, Heather Idoni, John Hinshaw, Will Goodman, and Herb Geraghty.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Government attorney Sanjay Patel \u2013 who has written a <\/span>treatise<\/span><\/a> on using the FACE Act (which these defendants are accused of violating) as a weapon against what he terms \u201canti-abortion extremism\u201d \u2013 opened with a statement that was almost identical to his opening comments in the previous trial. The government called the same first three <\/span>witnesses<\/span><\/a> in the same order as it did during the last trial. The presiding judge, <\/span>Colleen Kollar-Kotelly<\/span><\/a>, is the same; the trial is even being held in the same courtroom.<\/span><\/p>\n

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