One day after President Donald Trump signed pardons for the 23 pro-life Americans unjustly persecuted by the Biden Administration, the Trump Department of Justice issued a new memo making it clear it would not prosecute any pro-life Americans for peacefully protesting abortion.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced a significant shift in its approach to prosecuting individuals accused of violating the controversial FACE law and blocking access to abortion businesses or protesting or praying and singing near them.
Under the new directive, actions under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act will proceed only under “extraordinary circumstances” involving “significant aggravating factors.” Theat means FACE Act actions will be permitted in only extraordinary circumstances, ie, serious aggravating factors like death, serious bodily harm or serious property damage. If it falls below that, state and local authorities will handles.
No new abortion-related FACE Act actions will be taken without the sign-off by the head of Civil Rights. In addition, three FACE Act cases have been dismissed, with prejudice – meaning, they can’t be brought again.
This policy change led to the immediate dismissal of three ongoing cases in Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, where pro-life advocates were charged with blockading clinics in 2021.
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Chad Mizelle, the DOJ’s chief of staff, emphasized that this decision aligns with President Donald Trump’s commitment to ending the misuse of federal law enforcement against pro-life Americans. Mizelle highlighted that despite recent attacks on pro-life institutions following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, FACE Act prosecutions have predominantly targeted pro-life Americans.
“Even though more than a 100 crisis pregnancy centers, pro-life organizations and churches were attacked in the immediate aftermath of the Dobbs decision, nearly all prosecutions have been against pro-life protesters. This is not the even-handed administration of justice,” he said.
Trump has signed an executive order pardoning the 23 pro-life Americans Joe Biden imprisoned for protesting abortion.
“This is a great honor to sign this,” Trump said, condemning Biden’s lawfare, especially targeted at “elderly people.”
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order pardoning the 23 pro-life Americans Joe Biden imprisoned for protesting abortion.
“This is a great honor to sign this,” Trump said, condemning Biden’s lawfare, especially targeted at “elderly people.”
Trump granted pardons for 23 pro-life advocates who faced weaponized prosecutions brought against them by the Biden Department of Justice under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.
Earlier this month, Thomas More Society attorneys submitted to the Trump administration formal requests for presidential pardons on behalf of 21 of those pro-life advocates who have been unjustly prosecuted, convicted, and in several cases, imprisoned, by the Biden DOJ. In their letter submitted to President Donald J. Trump, Thomas More Society attorneys urged “that these pro-life Americans are deserving of full and unconditional pardons.” The communicated pardon request package included 21 individual pardon requests, one for each pro-life advocate, outlining the specific facts of each case, their upstanding personal and moral character, and the reasons why President Trump should grant a presidential pardon..
“Today, freedom rings in our great nation. The heroic peaceful pro-lifers unjustly imprisoned by Biden’s Justice Department will now be freed and able to return home to their families, eat a family meal, and enjoy the freedom that should have never been taken from them in the first place,” reacted Steve Crampton, Thomas More Society Senior Counsel. “These heroic peaceful pro-lifers were treated shamefully by Biden’s DOJ, with many of them branded felons and losing many rights that we take for granted as American citizens. Today, their precious freedom is restored. What happened to them can never be erased, but today’s pardons are a huge step towards restoring justice. Thank you to President Trump and his team for righting these grievous wrongs of the previous administration.”
The pro-lifers for whom the Thomas More Society requested pardons for are: Joan Bell, Coleman Boyd, Joel Curry, Jonathan Darnel, Eva Edl, Chester Gallagher, William Goodman, Dennis Green, Lauren Handy, Paulette Harlow, John Hinshaw, Heather Idoni, Jean Marshall, Fr. Fidelis Moscinski, Justin Phillips, Paul Place, Paul Vaughn, Bevelyn Beatty Williams, Calvin Zastrow, Eva Zastrow, and James Zastrow.
“Today is a new day for the pardoned pro-life advocates who have suffered FBI raids, federal prosecutions, and severe punishment for peacefully and courageously witnessing for life. We thank President Trump for keeping his promise to these pro-life mothers, fathers, grandparents, pastors, and priests,” added Peter Breen, Thomas More Society Executive Vice President and Head of Litigation. “What happened to these peaceful pro-life individuals must never happen again. We urge Congress to act swiftly in repealing the FACE Act to make sure that the Justice Department can never again weaponize this law to target peaceful pro-lifers with severe charges.”
