Crime Pro-life activists face up to 11 years in prison after conviction over prayer vigil outside abortion clinic - Video footage of the protest shows the group praying and singing Christian hymns in the hallway outside the clinic's doors.

Six pro-life activists face up to 11 years in prison after a Nashville jury found them guilty on Tuesday of conspiracy and violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act over their peaceful protest outside of an abortion clinic in March 2021.

The charges were brought by President Joe Biden's Department of Justice.

The six defendants are Chet Gallagher, Coleman Boyd, Heather Idoni, Cal Zastrow, Dennis Green, and Paul Vaughn. They are accused in the charging documents of using social media to organize a blockade at the entrance of an abortion clinic in Mount Juliet.

Video footage of the protest shows the group peacefully praying and singing Christian hymns in the hallway outside the clinic's doors.

The defendants were later targeted and arrested by the FBI for "conspiracy against rights secured by the FACE Act, and committing FACE Act violations."

The Justice Department issued a release in Oct. 2022 that states: "Gallagher utilized social media to promote a series of anti-abortion events scheduled for March 4-7, 2021, in the Nashville area. Other co-conspirators then utilized Facebook to coordinate travel and logistics and to identify other participants for the blockade."

"In his social media post, Gallagher referred to the blockade as a 'rescue,'" the release states. "Boyd also began a Facebook livestream broadcast of the clinic blockade at 7:45 a.m. on March 5, 2021. This livestream broadcast was titled, in part, 'Mt. Juliet, TN Rescue March 5, 2021,' and livestreamed the blockade event as his co-conspirators and others blocked the clinic’s entry doors and prevented a patient and an employee from entering."

"The livestream also broadcast members of the group attempting to engage a patient and her companion as Boyd told his livestream audience that the patient was a 'mom coming to kill her baby,'" according to the release.

Video footage obtained by the Daily Signal shows FBI agents arriving at the home of defendant Paul Vaughn. Federal authorities placed him in handcuffs and took him into custody.

Vaughn told the outlet that the FBI arrived at his home with "guns pointed at the door, banging on the house, yelling and screaming, ‘Open up. FBI,’ that kind of thing. When I opened the door and saw the guns pointed at me, I asked them what they wanted, who they were looking for, and they said they wanted me."

"I had kids in the yard walking out to get in the car to go to school, I was about to take them to school, and other kids in the house," he said. "So, seeing that the easiest path to de-escalation was me in handcuffs, I stepped outside and put an end to the ranting and the banging and the yelling."

Vaughn was represented by Thomas More Society attorneys in March, who argued that the Department of Justice under President Biden has exhibited a consistent tendency to selectively enforce the FACE Act against individuals who are pro-life.

Vaughn's attorneys petitioned the court to vacate the indictment levied by the DOJ on the grounds of selective prosecution. They contended that the FACE Act, which regulates speech based on content and violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the free exercise clause of the First Amendment, is an unconstitutional regulation.

"Defendants submit that the government has engaged in selective and/or vindictive prosecution motivated by an intent to punish defendants for the content of their viewpoints and their protected expressions thus making this case an unconstitutional application of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act," the filing states, according to the Daily Signal.

"In addition, FACE is an unconstitutional content-based regulation of speech; as applied, it violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, as well as the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment; and this court lacks jurisdiction because, especially after the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, FACE is an invalid exercise of Congress’ Commerce Clause authority," it continues.

Furthermore, the court filing adds that the Justice Department arrested Vaughn "and ten other defendants into court for a single alleged nonviolent violation" of the FACE Act “with over 170 uncharged incidents of destruction and vandalism at pro-life centers and churches across the country."

"The DOJ has demonstrated clear and illegal hostility toward the pro-life viewpoint in its statements and enforcement decisions, running roughshod over fundamental religious freedoms and free speech rights, and bringing an illegal selective prosecution here,” the filing alleges.

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[Sparkling Yuzu]

And I'm sympathetic to the 1st Amendment.

I am too, unless it's prolifers physically obstructing access to health clinics or BLM protesters blocking off EMS vehicles.

This Canadian agrees but also simultaneous disagrees.

No, I just have nuance because I'm not autistic. It's funny to say "good" to their sentence but I wouldn't support any legal action if they didn't try to block access to healthcare.

For some reason, a clump of cells is life on Mars but not life on Earth.
But they still want you to believe (((the science))).

NOO MUH BRAINLESS FETUSES! Look up a anencephalic baby instead of crying about muh microbes in space.

 

[Prester John]

I am too, unless it's prolifers physically obstructing access to health clinics or BLM protesters blocking off EMS vehicles.

It sure seemed like you were sympathetic to the government shutting down religious services in serving the government interest.

 

[Sparkling Yuzu]

It sure seemed like you were sympathetic to the government shutting down religious services in serving the government interest.

If it's for COVID yes, there was no reason to let people have massive church services before the vaccine and overwhelm the health system.

 

[SSj_Ness (Yiffed)]

You said it would be fine if the clinic is destroyed, even though there are people there that aren't getting abortions.

Presumably any vigilante there to commit such a deed, which is inadvisable, would be targeting baby killers, not innocent people (even many mothers getting abortion are innocent because as Ben Shapiro pointed out, due to pro-abortion & anti-natal propaganda these women are ignorant about what they're doing).

So you want people killed just for being in a low income health clinic.

I didn't say I wanted anybody killed, for the record. I disavow unnecessary violence, of course, and I'm totally not saying that just for legal reasons, I assure you!

During the pandemic? Probably because they weren't practicing social distancing and the government was trying to prevent a superspreader event.

Did they restrict abortions to only medically necessary ones for the same reason? The answer is no.

Anyone blocking off a church should get the same treatment as these abortion protesters did

But they're not, this corrupt regime's DOJ has not prosecuted one (1) such case despite there being numerous incidents.

In fact, they don't seem to put any effort at all into even seeking out vandals, presumably because they're too busy throwing Christians in jail for peacefully praying in the vicinity of Moloch's sacrificial lair. Oh, and hunting down anybody who even looked at the Capitol on 1/6 during the mostly peaceful protest & guided tour.

I know you're a bigtime abortion enthusiast and not a fan of Christianity, but I think you're intelligent enough and hopefully honest enough to admit there's an undeniable, extreme bias at play.

Furthermore, the FACE Act is in violation of 1st Amendment rights to begin with. Not only that, but abortion is not a Constitutional right, but religious freedom is, whether you like that or not it's true, so Christians have a stronger case for being able to pray anywhere they want than people do for receiving an abortion (not that they're even being stopped anyway, they just need to hear prayers before committing an atrocity--how awful!).

No, they are alive and usually not braindead.

Then why is it okay to kill them but not a braindead person? You'll get charged with murder for killing them, but be applauded as brave & stunning for killing a baby you just don't want.

One time in a thread she argued in the defense of lolicon for two days straight nonstop. But her only retort was "oh yeah, well what about the turner diaries!" On repeat

Most people who aren't libtards wouldn't find Turner Diaries to be particularly obscene anyway, at least in comparison, which makes that defense all the more preposterous.

It sure seemed like you were sympathetic to the government shutting down religious services in serving the government interest.

I agree.

 

[Sparkling Yuzu]

Moloch's sacrificial lair

Moloch wasn't a deity people worshiped, just an ancient word that meant offering. There is no Moloch and you sound retarded when you talk like this.

I think you're intelligent enough and hopefully honest enough to admit there's an undeniable, extreme bias at play.

I don't support the bias. If the FACE Act is like bubble zone laws, then I support it but it should apply to BLM tards blocking ambulances too. The ones here are specifically about abortion though because pro-life protesters are that psychotic that they need to be legally forced to not block buildings off and harass people.

the FACE Act is in violation of 1st Amendment rights to begin with.

I don't know what it entails. I don't see how a bubble zone type law would violate free speech though, it doesn't mean they can't hold or express their opinion, they just can't do it in a way that is making it harder for people to get to their appointment.

Then why is it okay to kill them but not a braindead person? You'll get charged with murder for killing them, but be applauded as brave & stunning for killing a baby you just don't want.

It is okay to kill a braindead person if it's euthanasia or withdrawal of life support and no one rational would call that murder. Brain death is death.

 

[Prester John]

If it's for COVID yes, there was no reason to let people have massive church services before the vaccine and overwhelm the health system.

1. The 1st Amendment is the reason for the government to let churches have their services.
2. The government LIED to me. They told me we would lock down for two weeks to "flatten the curve" and not overwhelm the system. I was actually on board with that at the time. Then two weeks came and went, and the lockdown went on for months and months. Never again.

 

[Sparkling Yuzu]

The government LIED to me. They told me we would lock down for two weeks to "flatten the curve" and not overwhelm the system. I was actually on board with that at the time. Then two weeks came and went, and the lockdown went on for months and months. Never again.

It should have ended when the vaccines came out.

 

[Prester John]

It should have ended when the vaccines came out.

It should've ended after two weeks.

 

[Jet Fuel Johnny]

It should've ended after two weeks.

It should have ended with a complete ban of travel from China and not letting Chinks buy all the PPE gear to send back to China.

 

[Heed Not]

If it's for COVID yes, there was no reason to let people have massive church services before the vaccine and overwhelm the health system.

There was also no reason for the government to be doing gain of function research with the SARS virus using a geopolitical rival to bypass lab leak safety protocols. I think that's a bit more pressing than the first amendment not being revoked temporarily.

 

[Safir]

I'm not reading 21 pages of covidiocy but it's telling there isn't a video of what the protestors did in the article despite the protestors livestreaming, even though it has a muh fbi rraid video.

his co-conspirators and others blocked the clinic’s entry doors and prevented a patient and an employee from entering."

"The livestream also broadcast members of the group attempting to engage a patient and her companion

DId this happen or not? If not, what exactly happened that the court is mispresenting like this?

 

[pikachudidnothingwrong]

Thugs and leftists burn down cities, it's called protesting and we have to clap, people protest for the "wrong" cause and face up to a decade in prison. This is political repression! There was no need for the feds to get involved. If the republicans don't fight this and or start charging eco terrorists and others (who do the same fucking thing, on private property and even public roads/land) once back in control... Then god help us all.

 

[Breadbassket]

Here is an update on this story.

6 activists convicted of illegally blocking abortion clinic in Tennessee​

A Tennessee jury has convicted six anti-abortion protesters of violating federal laws after they blocked the entrance of a reproductive clinic outside Nashville nearly three years ago.

The jury’s decision, handed down late Tuesday after a weeklong trial, marks the latest development in a case that has been closely watched by conservative groups, who have accused the federal government of unfairly targeting abortion opponents by using 1994 federal law designed to protect abortion clinics from obstruction and threats. Reproductive rights supporters counter the law, known as Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, or the FACE Act, is more critical than ever in shielding abortion providers from violence now that the constitutional right to abortion has been revoked.

At issue is a 2021 “blockade” held outside a reproductive health clinic in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, a town 17 miles (27.36 kilometers) east of Nashville, nearly a year before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The event was organized by anti-abortion supporters who used social media to promote and live-stream actions that they hoped would prevent the clinic from performing abortions, according to court documents.

At the time, abortion was still legal in Tennessee. It is now currently banned at all stages of pregnancy under a law that has very narrow exemptions.

Prosecutors say participants stationed themselves throughout the office building where carafem health clinic was located and, later, several began recording themselves “leading a rescue,” a term commonly known among anti-abortion activists as dissuading women from obtaining an abortion. Prosecutors added that videos from that day showed people blocking the clinic’s entrances and others attempting to engage with police as a delay tactic. Around 20 people attended the blockade.

While a federal grand jury initially indicted 11 people who participated in the blockade last year, six were convicted on Tuesday. Those are Chester Gallagher, Paul Vaughn, Heather Idoni, Calvin Zastrow, Coleman Boyd, and Dennis Green. They face up 10 1/2 years of prison time and fines of up to $260,000. Sentencing hearings will take place July 2.

“These defendants knowingly chose to violate laws they disagreed with,” said U.S. Attorney Henry C. Leventis in a statement. “The jury’s verdict today is a victory for the rule of law in this country and a reminder that we cannot pick and choose which laws we follow.”

Attorneys representing the defendants say they plan on appealing the convictions. The legal team has described the 2021 demonstration as a “peaceful life-affirming gathering” and has accused the federal justice department of prosecuting “pro-life activists” ever since the Supreme Court’s landmark 2022 abortion decision.

“This was a peaceful demonstration by entirely peaceable citizens — filled with prayer, hymn-singing, and worship — oriented toward persuading expecting mothers not to abort their babies,” said Steve Crampton, an attorney with the Thomas More Society.

Before Roe was overturned, the Justice Department oversaw just a handful of FACE Act violation cases. In 2021, just three cases involving three defendants were charged, and in 2020, the agency handled just one case.

By 2022, that number jumped to 11 cases involving 29 defendants. And last year, there were 10 cases and 22 defendants.

Advocates like the National Abortion Federation say the uptick in cases reflects the rise in harassment and violence abortion clinics have faced since state abortion bans have been allowed to go into effect.

In a 2022 report, the organization said abortion providers across the U.S. saw noticeable spikes in the number of death threats, stalkings, burglaries and arsons compared with the year prior.

Yet a growing number of conservative groups and Republican lawmakers have responded to these numbers by saying law enforcement has downplayed similar threats and violence against Catholic churches and so-called “crisis pregnancy centers,” which counsel against abortions.

Some have called on the Justice Department to apply the 1994 federal law more equitably and use it to investigate those who target crisis pregnancy centers. Meanwhile, a handful of Republican congressional members have introduced legislation that would repeal the protections altogether.

President Bill Clinton signed the FACE Act into law in 1994 following a string of high-profile attacks against abortion clinics, which included Dr. David Gunn being shot and killed outside an abortion clinic in Pensacola, Florida in 1993 — marking the first abortion provider killed in the U.S.

Article Link

 

[Skeletonized Cow]

“The jury’s verdict today is a victory for the rule of law in this country and a reminder that we cannot pick and choose which laws we follow.”

The irony is off the fucking charts, holy shit.

 

[dustbuster]

there's nothing peaceful about physically blocking someone's lawful movement

When every BLM protestor is rotting in prison for 12 years, I'll entertain your cynical attempts to outlaw political protests.

 

[morto di figa]

When every BLM protestor is rotting in prison for 12 years, I'll entertain your cynical attempts to outlaw political protests.

I'm happy for that to happen. You would've been able to infer that position from my post if you hadn't chosen to abort your intelligence by preferring circle jerking with retards to reading comprehension. I'm also happy to make it a physical lesson if you're ever trying to have a "political protest" in front of a doorway I'm trying to walk through

 

[dustbuster]

I'm happy for that to happen.

You post this knowing not one of them has faced this.
I don't believe you're sincere at all until it's happening, and you're ok with it as it's happening.

 

[morto di figa]

You post this knowing not one of them has faced this.
I don't believe you're sincere at all until it's happening, and you're ok with it as it's happening.

That's because you're projecting your own insincerety and someone with principles is as incomprehensible to you as someone hitting puberty before him is to the shmuck who thinks he should be allowed to impregnate 12 year olds. What I'm saying is I'll walk through an asshole trying to block me even if I agree with their cause.
The guy I threw off the escalator was merely a workman's apprentice who was tasked with stopping people from using an escalator that was blocked at one end due to maintenance. His cause was just but he tried to prosecute it in an inappropriate way, instead of wearing a uniform or telling me the way was blocked he tried to play Gandalf with the wrong balrog.

God I miss the days when the left was well-meaning but hopelessly naive and the right was the opposite. When did that switch around?

 

[dustbuster]

That's because you're projecting your own insincerety.. blah blah blah

A wall of text in response to a simple 2-line observation.
I've hit a nerve and your response has confirmed it to me.

This is happening one way, you're happy and gloating over it, and would be absolutely carpet-eating furious if it were happening in reverse.

 

[The Internet Dick]

Like why does anyone actually care if some irresponsible bitch who probably shouldn't have children anyway kills their unborn child?

If one believes a baby in the womb is a distinct human being, one endowed with a soul, then killing that baby would then be considered de facto murder of a child, infanticide, a horrible and immoral act, wrong, evil.

“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”

--Dietrich Bonhoeffer