The FBI raided a 48-year-old father and Catholic pro-life activist and arrested him for allegedly assaulting an abortion worker. Federal charges of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE) were dropped on Monday. The FBI continues to ignore Joe Biden’s illegal hoarding of classified information, but it targeted Mark Houck. The feds were able to do a huge FACEplant in this case.
Although a jury deadlock prevented Houck from making a decision, he was eventually acquitted of both FACE Act violations. This is the first positive news Houck’s family received since his September 2022 FBI raid. The Daily Caller reported that Houck was indicted by a Pennsylvania federal grand jury for allegedly assaulting Bruce Love, an abortion clinic volunteer in Philadelphia, in September 2022. Federal officials claimed Houck had violated the FACE Act by using force with the intent of injuring, intimidating, and interfering with any person who is a provider of reproductive health care. But, the jury found the opposite.
Houck pleaded guilty to the charges. He and the 40 Days for Life lawyer claimed that Houck shoved Bruce Love away as he defended his 12-year-old son against verbal abuse in Oct 2021. The legal counsel stated that the FACE Act applies only to an altercation about abortion. This was not the case for Houck (he was challenging Love’s verbal abuse against his son) and it does not apply to volunteers such as Love. Houck was also approached by the volunteer at abortion, and not only outside the clinic.
Houck and his children were attacked by a SWAT team consisting of 25-30 FBI agents. According to reports, the children begged the FBI agents who surrounded their home in the early hours of the morning not to arrest their father.
We previously wrote that Mrs. Houck was the victim of a pro-abortion demonstrator who screamed ‘crude…inappropriate and disgusting’ things at her son. Love refused to stop shouting and he finally pushed Love away from him. Love was not hurt but sued Houck as though he were the victim and not the perpetrator. Although they have ignored hundreds of instances of pro-abortion violence, the feds tried to use this incident to attack the pro-life Houck.
40 Days for Life’s general counsel Mark Britton praised the decision in Houck’s favor: “This is not only a win for Mark and the pro-life movement, but for freedom speech and every American. Months after a local case was dismissed, the federal government made up new charges. Federal charges could have been brought against anyone who argued in front of any abortion facility, regardless of the topic.
Despite this positive news, the fight for life isn’t over. The Justice Department charged eleven pro-life activists in October with FACE violations. Seven face up to 11-year imprisonment and $350,000 in fines. Five face up to a year in jail and fines of up to $10,000.
