A Tennessee federal jury found six pro-life advocates guilty of two serious crimes against the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act for their participation in a peaceful prayer outside a Nashville abortion clinic in 2021. The defendants face sentences of up to 11 years in prison and fines of up to $260,000. The Thomas More Society, which led the defense in this trial, said the ruling is part of "the Biden Department of Justice’s virulent prosecution of pro-life activists."
A federal jury has found Paul Vaughn & the five co-defendants guilty in the DOJ's Nashville FACE trial.
They face up to 11 years in prison.
Immediately following the verdict, the pro-life defendants, their families and friends, gathered before the courthouse to sing hymns. pic.twitter.com/FgozsdUCqq
— Thomas More Society (@ThomasMoreSoc) January 30, 2024
The DOJ seeks to exemplify to frighten Christians
The defendants' attorneys point out that the persecution of Christians by Merrick Garland's agency, especially pro-life advocates, "began in the months following the United States Supreme Court June 2022 overturn of Roe v. Wade" and continues to intensify. The court found Paul Vaughn, a well-known Christian activist and father of 11 children; Chester Gallagher, Coleman Boyd, Heather Idoni, Calvin Zastrow and Dennis Green guilty of one count of "misdemeanor violations of the FACE Act" and one count of engaging in a "conspiracy against rights." The sentencing hearing is set for July 2, although the defense announced that they will appeal the decision.
Steve Crampton, advisor to the Thomas More Society and Vaughn's lawyer, was "disappointed " by the ruling and noted that the DOJ is using his client as an example to scare other Christians and pro-life activists:
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. Unfortunately, the Biden Department of Justice decided to characterize Paul Vaughn’s peaceful actions as a felony ‘conspiracy against rights,’ to intimidate and punish Paul and other pro-life people and people of faith.
DOJ double standard
Crampton points to the double standard at the DOJ regarding the treatment of advocates who peacefully defend the unborn and abortion activists who carry out violent attacks against pro-life centers to help pregnant women. "The Biden Department of Justice’s pattern of arresting and prosecuting peaceful pro-life advocates is disturbing," he said, highlighting the "less than vigorous" response from law enforcement to attacks by abortionists, which in many cases are not even prosecuted.
The treatment of abortion activists contrasts with the grandiose FBI raid to arrest Vaughn at his home in front of his wife and children. "This is a frustrating setback, for Paul, for his family, and for the extended pro-life community, which has rallied support for Paul from the day of his arrest in front of his wife and children by heavily armed FBI agents, on through the trial," Crampton observed. It should be remembered that just two weeks earlier, a similar FBI raid was conducted at pro-life advocate Mark Houck's house. On Sept. 23, 2022, Houck was dragged away from his family's Pennsylvania home by armed officers while they pointed guns at his wife and seven young children.
Weak accusations
In its statement, the legal team of the Thomas More Society pointed out the weaknesses of the key arguments the prosecution used against Vaughn, but which were still sufficient for their client to be found guilty:
- The prosecution relied heavily on a primary witness, Caroline Davis, who participated in and was arrested for the Mt. Juliet prayer event with Vaughn, but later turned state’s evidence.
- The government attempted to paint Paul as willfully deceiving the police during the gathering at the Mt. Juliet prayer event, despite witness testimony from a police negotiator who testified that Paul had been both helpful, collaborative, and peaceful.
- The government also attempted to portray Paul as intending to interfere with the operation of the Mt. Juliet facility using paper-thin evidence, and as a member of a criminal conspiracy despite no evidence of prior knowledge of the event.
- The government also presented an abortion-determined woman who apparently had scheduled an appointment for an abortion but said that she left “because of the protesters.”
- Federal attorneys included an abortion business employee who claimed to be “trapped inside the building during the incident,” despite video that showed traffic clearly passing down the hallway to and from the abortion venue.
After learning of the verdict, the defendants, "along with family and friends, gathered in front of the Courthouse to pray and sing hymns together."
