{"id":320535,"date":"2024-10-24T16:43:09","date_gmt":"2024-10-24T21:43:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=320535"},"modified":"2024-10-25T19:47:26","modified_gmt":"2024-10-26T00:47:26","slug":"retribution-unjust-prosecution-bevelyn-williams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/retribution-unjust-prosecution-bevelyn-williams\/","title":{"rendered":"Retribution: The DOJ&#8217;s unjust prosecution of pro-lifer Bevelyn Williams"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pro-life activist Bevelyn Beatty Williams <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/judge-denies-legal-request-convicted-pro-life-activist\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reported<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to federal prison in Alabama last week to serve out her sentencing on charges of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE Act) during a two-day protest outside a New York City Planned Parenthood in June of 2020. Williams was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison for an alleged crime for which she was not arrested at the time (despite police officers being on the scene), and for which no investigation was opened for <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">more than two years<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Based on the timeline of events \u2013 and based on the fact that Williams\u2019 sentence is extremely harsh compared to some sentences handed down for violent assaults as well as heinous crimes against children \u2013\u00a0 there is reason to believe that the charges brought against Williams were politically motivated.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Those who have <\/span><b><i>directly assaulted children<\/i><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (or violently assaulted other adults) have received lighter sentencing than Williams, who sought to <\/span><b><i>protect children before they were born<\/i><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and exacted violence upon no one.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>What happened<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Williams, along with her co-founder of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/atwellministries.org\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the Well Ministries<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Edmee Chavannes, were protesting outside Planned Parenthood in Manhattan on June 19th and 20th in 2020 \u2014 a protest that was live-streamed on Facebook. During the protest, Williams stated that she would \u201cterrorize\u201d Planned Parenthood. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As Live Action News <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/sentencing-crime-new-york-pro-lifer-face-act\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">previously reported<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Williams\u2019 attorney, Aaron Mysliwiec, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a criminal and civil litigation lawyer with Miedel &amp; Mysliwiec, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">stated that Williams\u2019 words that day were \u201crhetorical,\u201d adding <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">that Williams and Chavannes were \u201cnot threatening anyone with weapons, not chaining themselves to doors[.]\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cFirst Amendment speech doesn\u2019t require you to be meek and modest,\u201d he said. \u201cYou are allowed to be loud and proud in somebody\u2019s face and say things in a way that makes them uncomfortable.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When a Planned Parenthood worker attempted to open the door of the abortion facility for a Planned Parenthood volunteer, the door hit Williams and she pushed back on it without looking behind her. According to Mysliwiec, who spoke with Live Action News, the Planned Parenthood staffer did not ask Williams to move out of the way of the door, or ask the NYPD officers who were present outside the facility to ask her to move. Instead, the staffer initiated physical contact with Williams, pushing the door into the back of Williams&#8217; entire body.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to Mysliwiec, the staffer chose \u201cto start a physical altercation into Bev\u2019s back\u2026 an extra push on it into the back of Bev\u2019s body.&#8221; He then described the events. &#8220;Bev is not looking at the door when the employee does that and reacts to that by pushing the door back. The allegation is that the employee&#8217;s hand was caught in the door and that Bev kept pressure for longer than necessary. Bev didn\u2019t initiate the physical contact.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mysliwiec added that the employee did not have the right to physically move Williams, and that this would be considered \u201can assault.\u201d Mysliwiec noted, \u201cIn reaction to that assault, Bev pushed the door back. The intent there was not to violate the FACE Act or attempt to cause fear or injury, but to stop the person from slamming the door into her.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New York Police Department (NYPD) officers were on the scene throughout the protest and neither determined that an assault had been carried out, nor did they<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> arrest<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Williams or Chavannes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_281876\" style=\"width: 741px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-281876\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-281876\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/bevelyn-beatty-edmee-chavannes-at-the-well.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"731\" height=\"396\" srcset=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/bevelyn-beatty-edmee-chavannes-at-the-well.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/bevelyn-beatty-edmee-chavannes-at-the-well-300x163.jpg 300w, https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/bevelyn-beatty-edmee-chavannes-at-the-well-768x416.jpg 768w, https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/bevelyn-beatty-edmee-chavannes-at-the-well-700x379.jpg 700w, https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/bevelyn-beatty-edmee-chavannes-at-the-well-500x271.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 731px) 100vw, 731px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-281876\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: At the Well Ministries (Facebook) &#8211; Bevelyn Williams and Edmee Chavannes<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The injured staffer did <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">not<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> seek immediate medical attention for the injury, which was later described as a bad bruise. During Williams\u2019 sentencing in court this year, she <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/prolifer-bevelyn-wiliams-impassioned-plea-sentencing-hearing\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">told the judge<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, \u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In my heart, I would have never wanted that woman\u2019s hand to be hurt. I would have never wanted that. And I\u2019m sorry for that. I am sorry for her hand being locked in the door.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In addition, New York Attorney General Letitia James brought <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">no criminal charges<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> against either pro-lifer; neither did U.S. attorneys for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan). It wasn\u2019t until 2021 that AG James brought a civil <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us\/court-rules-against-anti-abortion-protesters-new-york-2021-03-10\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">suit<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> against Williams and Chavannes, which was <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/ag.ny.gov\/press-release\/2021\/attorney-general-james-stops-harassment-manhattan-planned-parenthood-health\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">settled<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in April 2021. The two were required to stay outside of the abortion facility\u2019s buffer zone or face a $5,000 fine. However, no criminal charges were ever filed and nothing would have ever come from it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But then, more than two years after the protest, a major ruling was handed down by the Supreme Court. And this changed everything.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Politically motivated charges filed<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Two years after that June 2020 protest took place, and <\/span><b><i>more than a year<\/i><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> after the civil case was <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">settled<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the Biden-Harris Department of Justice decided to <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">open an investigation<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> into the June 2020 protest.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Supreme Court had overturned <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Roe v. Wade<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in its June 2022 ruling in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dobbs v. Jackson Women&#8217;s Health Organization, <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and there is speculation that this had everything to do with the sudden charges brought against Williams and Chavannes \u2014 and other pro-life activists.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;What&#8217;s interesting about Bev&#8217;s case,&#8221; said Mysliwiec, &#8220;is the incident occurred in June of 2020 and the government did not prosecute that until <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">after<\/span><\/i> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dobbs<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in 2022. Based on the trial evidence, two years went by and nobody from the Southern District of New York&#8217;s prosecution team \u2014 including FBI agents \u2014 nobody even talked to the Planned Parenthood in Manhattan during those two years. It was not until a few weeks after the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dobbs<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> decision that they began investigating. NYPD was on the scene in June of 2020. Planned Parenthood had lawyers in June of 2020.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dobbs<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, &#8220;Nobody from the U.S. attorney&#8217;s office does anything. Nobody thinks it&#8217;s worth their time,&#8221; he said, adding, &#8220;Then after <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dobbs<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, one could argue, the district wanted a case to prosecute under FACE and went two years into the past. It begs the question: If this was such a serious incident, why didn&#8217;t they investigate in the weeks after it happened?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There\u2019s only one reason Mysliewiec can see. \u201cIt&#8217;s because <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dobbs<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> hadn&#8217;t happened,\u201d he said.\u201cThe key fact that changes their determination is what the Supreme Court Justices did, which <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">should not<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> be the reason to go and prosecute Bev Williams.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ultimately, it wasn&#8217;t until December of 2022, two and a half years after the fact, that the Biden-Harris DOJ charged Williams and Chavannes with conspiracy to violate the FACE Act. In addition, Williams was charged with violating the FACE Act through force, threats of force, and physical obstruction, resulting in bodily harm, and Chavannes was also charged with violating the FACE Act through threats of force and physical obstruction.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Also in 2022, the Biden-Harris DOJ began filing similar charges under the FACE Act against other pro-lifers \u2014 including in Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., the Eastern District of New York, and Tennessee.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;The DOJ decided to proactively seek out more FACE Act prosecutions for their own reasons,&#8221; Mysliwiec believes. &#8220;One might speculate that it was because they were unhappy with the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dobbs<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> decision and wanted to take out that unhappiness on pro-life activists by charging FACE Act violations more aggressively than in the past. They felt, as a public policy matter, that they should enforce FACE more aggressively than in preceding years.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Unreasonable penalty by any standard\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As previously <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/prolifer-bevelyn-wiliams-impassioned-plea-sentencing-hearing\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reported<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by Live Action News, Chavannes was acquitted on all counts. However, while Williams was acquitted on the conspiracy charge, she was found guilty on the charge of violating the FACE Act through force, threats of force, and physical obstruction, resulting in bodily harm.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">She was <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/sentencing-crime-new-york-pro-lifer-face-act\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sentenced<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to 41 months \u2014 more than three years \u2014 in federal prison. Hers is the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/sentencing-pro-life-activists-judge-abortion-need\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">second longest conviction<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of any of the pro-lifers recently charged with violating the FACE Act, and far longer and more severe than any penalty meted out against the few pro-abortion individuals recently charged by the DOJ with violating FACE. Even those who were convicted of \u201cconspiracy against rights\u201d in addition to FACE Act violations received more lenient sentencing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, in May, several pro-life activists were sentenced for FACE Act violations and &#8220;conspiracy against rights&#8221; in relation to a Washington, D.C. rescue, where an abortion facility staff member was injured, resulting in a sprained ankle. Pro-lifer Jonathan Darnel was <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/sentencing-pro-life-activists-judge-abortion-need\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sentenced<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to 34 months in prison, Heather Idoni was <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/grandmother-idoni-sentenced-pro-life\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sentenced<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to 24 months, Herb Geraghty was sentenced to 27 months in prison, Jean Marshall was sentenced to 24 months in prison, Joan Bell was sentenced to 27 months in prison, John Hinshaw was <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/sentencing-pro-life-activists-judge-abortion-need\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sentenced<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to 21 months, Will Goodman was sentenced to 27 months, and Lauren Handy received the longest sentence of any pro-life activist \u2014 at 57 months. Paulette Harlow, a great-grandmother with significant health concerns, was <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/great-grandmother-federal-prison-god-called-me\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sentenced<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to 24 months in federal prison followed by 36 months of supervised release.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Again, all of these pro-life activists were convicted of &#8220;conspiracy against rights&#8221; while Williams was not \u2014 yet she received a longer sentence than all but Handy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;The contrast is that with Bev\u2019s case where \u2014 even assuming that the government&#8217;s version of the facts is correct \u2014 there was bruising of the wrist. The employee did not seek medical attention that day, a few days lapsed. Not a serious physical injury in terms of the way New York law defines it,&#8221; said Mysliwiec. &#8220;This is the kind of injury that in New York would be misdemeanor assault. I&#8217;ve handled 200+ assault cases. The normal thing that happens with cases of that nature is they are reduced to non-criminal offenses and no one gets a jail sentence. 99.9% of the time, the sentence would be no jail.&#8221;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Three pro-abortion advocates who vandalized a pro-life pregnancy center in 2022 were <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/pro-abortion-florida-prc-attackers-short-face\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sentenced<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to far less time than Williams and many of the other pro-life activists. Caleb Freestone was sentenced to one year and one day in prison for conspiring to injure, oppress, threaten or intimidate &#8211; in his case &#8211; employees of pro-life pregnancy help centers. His co-defendants, Amber Smith-Stewart and Annarella Rivera, were sentenced to 30 days in prison and 60 days of home detention.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Williams has a criminal history from the early 1990s, before her conversion to Christianity. U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Rochon, who imposed the sentencing, said she took seven previous convictions into account when determining jail time for Williams \u2014 including previous arrests related to her pro-life advocacy work.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Longer sentence than some child rapists<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Given what Williams is charged with, it is striking to see that much lighter sentences have been handed down for <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">far<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> worse charges.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, in the same state \u2014 New York \u2014 Mohamed Shei was sentenced to just <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.postbulletin.com\/news\/local\/rochester-man-given-180-days-in-jail-for-raping-juvenile-females\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">180 days<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in jail for raping two young girls who were ages four and nine at the time. Shawn Jordan, a former Rochester police officer who pleaded guilty to raping a child, was sentenced to 10 years of probation and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rochesterfirst.com\/crime\/former-rpd-officer-will-be-sentenced-for-raping-an-underage-child\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10 jail weekends<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in August. Just this month, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Michael Ruiz of Brooklyn was sentenced to <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.brooklynda.org\/2024\/10\/18\/brooklyn-man-sentenced-to-three-and-a-half-years-in-prison-for-assaulting-and-slashing-stranger-with-knife\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">three and a half years<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for second-degree assault and third-degree attempted assault for attacking a stranger on the street and a bystander who attempted to intervene. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Two Niagara Falls women were sentenced to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wgrz.com\/article\/news\/crime\/2-niagara-falls-women-sentenced-for-assault-at-tim-hortons-crime\/71-35015ea6-b7a2-45e7-b0b0-c6689d25f533\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">two years<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in prison for an assault at a restaurant. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And in August, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a Binghamton woman was sentenced to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wbng.com\/2024\/08\/09\/binghamton-woman-sentenced-45-years-prison-violent-assault\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">four and a half years<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in jail for beating another woman and pushing her down the stairs before beating her <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">again<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, in an incident the judge called \u201cthe most violent attack\u201d she has seen.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Long-term effects of the conviction and sentencing<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Williams is appealing her conviction, as well as the decision of the judge to refuse her request to remain at home while her appeals case moves forward. In the meantime, she&#8217;ll be in prison, separated from her husband and their young daughter for the foreseeable future. On the day of her sentencing, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/prolifer-bevelyn-wiliams-impassioned-plea-sentencing-hearing\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Williams told the judge<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, \u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I don\u2019t want to be away from my baby girl. No, I don\u2019t. I love her so much. And she is so special to me, because she was the baby I didn\u2019t kill, you understand? So I want to be there for her\u2026 and I want to be there for my husband \u2026 I ask for mercy\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_317370\" style=\"width: 693px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-317370\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-317370\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/bevelyn-williams-and-family.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"683\" height=\"370\" srcset=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/bevelyn-williams-and-family.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/bevelyn-williams-and-family-300x163.jpg 300w, https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/bevelyn-williams-and-family-700x379.jpg 700w, https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/bevelyn-williams-and-family-768x416.jpg 768w, https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/bevelyn-williams-and-family-500x271.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-317370\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo via GiveSendGo<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But that mercy was not given. The judge <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/judge-denies-legal-request-convicted-pro-life-activist\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">denied Williams\u2019 request<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to remain home on bail during her appeals process.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Williams\u2019 case has far-reaching implications.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;This case should be important to any person in the U.S. who cares about the government engaging in prosecutions based on viewpoints,&#8221; said Mysliwiec. &#8220;Regardless of whether you&#8217;re a Democrat or a Republican, a centrist, or somebody who is left-wing\/right-wing, this case should matter because the delay in prosecution and decision to begin investigation suggests strongly that in some way this case is retaliation by the executive branch (DOJ) for a Supreme Court decision that they didn\u2019t like.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;And <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">that<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> should worry everyone in the U.S.,&#8221; he said, &#8220;because there will be a time where a party controls the executive branch that&#8217;s not your party and a person is president or runs DOJ who does not hold your same beliefs, and you need to decide if it&#8217;s acceptable for them to prosecute you because they have different views than you do.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He said it&#8217;s also important for the people who have a pro-life viewpoint to realize that the delayed investigation into Williams and her conviction and sentencing is &#8220;another chapter in the battle that&#8217;s playing out on the [abortion] issue with states and in courtrooms around the country.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;This is going to be a long fight,&#8221; said Mysliwiec. &#8220;It&#8217;s going to take a lot of time and energy and it&#8217;s taking a huge toll on Bev and her family.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To donate to Bevelyn Williams&#8217; defense and to support her family, <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.givesendgo.com\/BevelynBeattyWilliams\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">click here<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"s1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/resist-pressure-to-dispense-the-abortion-pill\/\"><b><i>Urge Walmart, Costco, Kroger, and other major chains to resist pressure to dispense the abortion pill<\/i><\/b><b><i><\/i><\/b><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: center;\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pro-life activist Bevelyn Beatty Williams reported to federal prison in Alabama last week to serve out her sentencing on charges of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE Act) during a two-day protest outside a New York City Planned Parenthood in June of 2020. Williams was sentenced to 41 months in federal [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":317181,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Retribution: The DOJ&#039;s unjust prosecution of pro-lifer Bevelyn Williams<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Some who have directly assaulted children received lighter sentencing than Williams, who sought to protect children before they were born.\" \/>\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\/retribution-unjust-prosecution-bevelyn-williams\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta 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