Trump DOJ Rolls Back Biden’s Aggressive Prosecution Of Pro-Lifers
The Department of Justice is rolling back President Joe Biden’s aggressive prosecution of the FACE Act, saying his administration weaponized the law against pro-life protesters.
A new memo from President Donald Trump’s DOJ says that the department will only prosecute the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act in cases of extreme violence. Under Biden, FACE was successfully paired with a felony conspiracy charge to lock up nearly a dozen peaceful pro-life protesters.
“President Trump campaigned on the promise of ending the weaponization of the federal government and has recently directed all federal departments and agencies to identify and correct the past weaponization of law enforcement,” the memo from DOJ Chief of Staff Chad Mizelle said.
Biden’s DOJ: Used the FACE Act to throw pro-life advocates in jail
Trump’s DOJ: Stops the abuse of the FACE Act and protects the pro-life community
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FACE was originally passed in 1994 with the supposed intent to protect abortion facilities, churches, and pregnancy care centers from violence. However, data obtained by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) shows that 97% of cases have been brought against pro-lifers, despite increasing attacks against churches after the end of Roe v. Wade.
The memo said that the DOJ would only prosecute FACE under “extraordinary circumstances” or in instances related to “death, serious bodily harm, or serious property damage.”
“Cases not presenting significant aggravating factors can adequately be addressed under state or local law,” the memo said. “Additionally, until further notice, no new abortion-related FACE Act actions — criminal or civil — will be permitted without authorization from the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.”
Under Biden, nearly a dozen pro-life activists were sentenced to prison, including a woman named Lauren Handy who got 57 months in prison over a protest at a notorious late-term abortion facility in Washington, D.C. Others, like 64-year-old Calvin Zastrow, were given six months in prison over a peaceful protest at an abortion facility in Tennessee.
“To many Americans, prosecutions and civil actions under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (‘FACE Act’) have been the prototypical example of this weaponization. And for good reason. Even though more than 100 crisis pregnancy centers, pro-life organizations, and churches were attacked in the immediate aftermath of the Dobbs decision, nearly all prosecutions under the FACE Act have been against pro-life protesters. That is not the evenhanded administration of justice,” the memo said.
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The DOJ also moved to immediately dismiss three ongoing FACE Act cases brought by the Biden administration that have yet to be resolved. The Thomas More Society, which is involved in each of the dropped cases, celebrated the decision.
“Huge moment in the fight against FACE,” the organization posted on X. “In each of these three FACE Act cases, Thomas More Society attorneys were representing several brave and peaceful pro-life defendants—who can now breathe easy without the heavy burden of federal prosecutors on their backs.”
The revamped approach from the DOJ follows action on Thursday from Trump when he signed a pardon for 23 pro-lifers convicted under Biden, freeing many of them from prison.