October 19, 2022 6:24pm EDT
DOJ ramps up charges against pro-life activists: 4 last year, 26 this year
Since September, DOJ has indicted 14 pro-life activists under the FACE Act
By Brianna Herlihy | Fox News
The Justice Department has ramped up prosecutions of pro-life activists in the months following the Supreme Court decision to reverse Roe v. Wade, under a law that was barely used in 2020 and 2021 but has now been used to indict 26 people this year.
In the last four weeks alone, the Justice Department has indicted 14 people under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, or the FACE Act. That Clinton-era law makes it a federal crime to use or threaten to use force to "injure, intimidate, or interfere" with anyone seeking either abortion services or pro-life pregnancy counseling services.
Each of those 14 indictments were against pro-life demonstrators, and all of the 26 FACE Act indictments this year have been against pro-lifers. These alleged FACE Act incidents, for which DOJ is now pressing charges, occurred at least one year ago and carry potential jail time of up to 11 years and over $200,000 in fines.
In contrast, only four FACE Act indictments took place in 2021, according to DOJ.
The sudden uptick in FACE Act charges follows the Supreme Court’s decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case in June that overturned Roe v. Wade, eliminating the constitutional right to abortion access. In response to the Dobbs opinion, DOJ launched a reproductive rights task force, which the department says was formed to "identify ways to protect access to reproductive health care."
While DOJ has been prosecuting alleged FACE Act violations by pro-life activists, the Supreme Court decision has also led to dozens of violent incidents at pro-life pregnancy centers staged by pro-choice demonstrators. For example, the radical abortion rights group Jane's Revenge has claimed credit for vandalizing or firebombing at least 18 of these pro-life clinics.
But the FBI has made no arrests related to these incidents, and so far, no FACE Act charges have been brought against anyone involved in these attacks.
Pro-life groups and their supporters have argued that DOJ is biased against them. "
f you are a conservative, if you are a person of faith, then you are going to get targeted by this administration," Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., in reference to DOJ's actions related to abortion rights.
"The Biden administration’s bias is clear. Dozens of churches and pregnancy centers were vandalized and threatened this summer, yet the DOJ is busy perp walking pro-life grandmothers," Katie Glenn, state policy director for Susan B Anthony Pro-Life America told Fox News Digital.
more
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/doj-ramps-up-charges-against-pro-life-activists-1-last-year-23-this-year
