Six pro-life activists were found guilty on Tuesday of felony conspiracy against rights and violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) for a peaceful protest. This took place at a Tennessee abortion facility in 2021. They face 11 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The felony conspiracy charge against rights is a ridiculous use of the law never used against the left.
Never get between Democrats and their abortionists.
They were accused of blocking the Carafem Health Center Clinic in Mount Juliet.
Attorneys for the activists said they were conducting a “rescue” and had gathered on the second floor of the office building where the clinic is located. They prayed, sang hymns, and urged women not to go through with abortions.
According to the Catholic News Agency (CNA), the blockade was documented in a March 5, 2021, video posted on Facebook. It showed a large group of pro-life activists, ranging from the elderly to young children, walking into an abortion clinic and blocking access to the door by sitting in front of it.
Six of the activists have now been found guilty of a misdemeanor FACE Act charge, as well as a felony conspiracy against rights charge, which carries with it the possibility of up to 11 years in prison and fines up to $250,000.
They include Chester Gallagher, 73, of Lebanon, Tennessee; Heather Idoni, 58, of Michigan; Calvin Zastrow, 57, of Michigan; Coleman Boyd, 51, of Bolton, Mississippi; Dennis Green, 56, of Cumberland, Virginia; and Paul Vaughn, 55, of Centerville, Tennessee.
The FACE Act, which is the same law that pro-life father of seven Mark Houck was charged and acquitted under early last year, prohibits “violent, threatening, damaging, and obstructive conduct intended to injure, intimidate, or interfere with the right to seek, obtain, or provide reproductive health services.”
So, naturally, the federal government slapped a crazy felony charge on them as well to make sure they pay.
Four other activists have not gone to trial and were only charged with a FACE (Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances) Act violation and face up to one year in prison and fines up to $10,000. They include Eva Edl, 87, of Aiken, South Carolina; Eva Zastro, 24, of Dover, Arkansas; James Zastro, 25, of Eldon, Missouri; and Paul Place, 24, of Centerville, Tennessee.
Another activist, 24-year-old Caroline Davis of Michigan, took a plea deal in 2023 and agreed to testify for the government.
The Daily Wire reported that the six activists are expected to be sentenced in July.
According to attorneys for Paul Vaughn, the guilty verdict was delivered on the sixth day of the trial. It took place at the Fred D. Thompson courthouse in Nashville. Judge Aleta Trauger, a Bill Clinton appointee, oversaw the case.
Thomas More Society attorneys for Vaughn will appeal his guilty verdict to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He is a Christian father of 11 children.
We don’t have freedom of religion under this administration. For many people of faith, abortion is murder. The charge and punishment is insane.
This is a weaponized judicial system with extreme punitive laws and sentences for people of the right. They’ve turned the Justice system into an atom bomb, but only for the right.
Antifa, BLM, and Palestinian/Hamas rioters can block bridges, buildings, roads, and anything they want.