In early March 2021, there was a planned, peaceful protest in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. It was a ”rescue operation” by pro-life activists at the local abortion clinic. According to local news reports, and as evidenced in videos, the pro-lifers peacefully stood and sat inside a hallway of the building, singing hymns, praying, and refusing to leave. Some of the pro-lifers sat in front of doors in a passive effort to prevent employees and patients from proceeding with abortions. A short time afterwards, nine people were arrested and peacefully removed from the premises. They were later released after posting bail for misdemeanor trespass charges.
A year and a half later, it’s no longer a misdemeanor; now it’s a serious federal crime. A federal indictment that has been brought against the pro-lifers alleges that they, “aided and abetted by one another, used force and physical obstruction to injure, intimidate, and interfered with employees of the clinic and a patient who was seeking reproductive health services (abortions).”
According to an October 5 press release from the U.S. Department of Justice, four of the protesters are being charged with Face Act violations (Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances). If convicted, the protesters face a year in prison and fines of up to $10,000. One of those so indicted is Eva Edl, pictured above. This dangerous woman, who is now facing prison, is 87 years old, and she is a German survivor of a communist prisoner-of-war concentration camp during World War II. Following her escape from that camp, she began a legacy of fighting for the right to life for all human beings, including the unborn.
Another seven of the peaceful protestors are being charged with “conspiracy against rights secured by the FACE Act and committing FACE Act violations.” If convicted, they could face up to 11 years in prison and as much as $250,000 in fines. Unlike the four who were asked to turn themselves in, the FBI went after these even more dangerous (alleged) criminals with a show of force.
One of the seven pro-life leaders indicted by the Department of Justice is Paul Vaughn. He was not asked to turn himself in; instead, FBI agents, armed with assault rifles and side arms, raided his family home early in the morning, just as he was preparing to drive his children to school. According to Vaughn, three of his children were outside walking through the backyard when an armed FBI agent confronted the kids and questioned them, and then did not let them go back into the house. Vaughn was then handcuffed on the porch in front of his children. He was released after six hours with no wallet or phone.
What’s our country coming to? As we have argued before these armed raids are both dangerous and unnecessary. Moreover, in its targeting of pro-life activists, the Department of Justice is turning what was a local, minor matter onto a major federal crime. You have to wonder, how political is this? This latest federal indictment concerned an incident that occurred one-and-a-half years ago, and the local charges were all dismissed. Why the big fuss now, just one month before the mid-term elections? Is the President just trying to rile up his pro-abortion base? President Biden should be ashamed!
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