Biden DOJ Accused of Weaponizing FACE Act Against Pro-Life Activists: A 'Systematic Campaign'?

Update: During a House hearing, a pro-life attorney alleged that the Biden administration's Department of Justice (DOJ) has been leading a "systematic campaign" against pro-life protesters. These individuals were charged with violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act and, back in 2020, received sentences of several years behind bars.

Peter Breen, the executive vice president and head of litigation at the Thomas More Society, a Christian nonprofit law firm, testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight on Tuesday. He spoke about the Biden administration's prosecution of 23 pro-life protesters, many of whom participated in a large-scale abortion clinic blockade in Washington, D.C. It's worth noting that President Donald Trump pardoned all of these activists as one of his first executive actions in January.

"The Biden DOJ engaged in a systematic campaign to abuse the power of the federal government against pro-life advocates, while that same DOJ ignored hundreds of acts of vandalism and violence against pro-life churches, pregnancy help centers, and other advocates," Breen stated.

The hearing, aptly titled, "Entering the Golden Age: Ending the Weaponization of the Justice Department," featured testimonies from various legal experts, including Chris Swecker, former FBI assistant director of the Criminal Investigations Unit.

The Thomas More Society represented several of the 23 pro-life activists who were imprisoned following the 2020 demonstrations and had urged Trump to pardon them early in his term.

"They should not have been prosecuted," Trump said during the signing. "Many of them are elderly people. They should not have been prosecuted. This is a great honor to sign this."

Breen emphasized that the Trump administration's pardons sent a "powerful message." 

"On behalf of our clients and the pro-life movement as a whole, we are thankful to President Trump for his recent pardons and to the members of this House who supported that effort," he said. "Those pardons sent a powerful message to the country, and especially to the millions of Americans in the pro-life movement, that the federal government should not be weaponized against Americans because of their sincere beliefs in the sanctity of human life."

Prosecutors from the DOJ's Civil Rights Division and the U.S. attorney's office for the District of Columbia argued that the pro-life activists violated the 1994 FACE Act, which prohibits physical force, threats of force, or intentionally damaging property to prevent someone from obtaining or providing abortion services.

"Evidence presented at trial established that the defendants used force and physical obstruction to execute a clinic blockade that was organized by the group’s leaders," the Biden DOJ stated in its announcement of several indictments. "The defendants’ forced entry into the clinic at the outset of the invasion resulted in injury to a clinic nurse. During the blockade, one patient had to climb through a receptionist window to access the clinic, while another laid in the hallway outside of the clinic in physical distress, unable to gain access to the clinic."

The FACE Act is now facing scrutiny from the pro-life movement, with opponents arguing that it infringes on the First Amendment, restricts freedom of protest, and unfairly targets anti-abortion activists.

"Of course, we urge Congress to repeal the FACE Act, which is selectively and illegally enforced by pro-abortion presidential administrations," Breen said. "But in the immediate term, Congress has several other concrete steps it can take, working with the new Administration to define the proper scope of the laws and to defend the rights of pro-life Americans."

The hearing also touched on a Richmond FBI internal 2023 memo concerning the "Interest of Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists in Radical-Traditionalist Catholic Ideology." 

Fox News Digital has reached out to the DOJ for comment.