Mark Houck and family who were unfairly targeted by the politicization of the FACE Act.
After repeated abuse of the FACE Act, a 1994 law that bars obstructing the entrance to abortion clinics which is now being used to target pro-life Americans, Congressional Republicans are taking action to prohibit the Department of Justice from using its funding to enforce the Act.
The Washington Examiner is reporting on the new initiative taken by a dozen Republican members of Congress, led by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), who want to put a stop to the abuse of the FACE Act which the Biden Administration is using to punish pro-life activists such as Mark Houck, the Catholic father of seven who was prosecuted by the DOJ for pushing an abortion clinic volunteer who was harassing his son. The indictment against Houck claimed that he was interfering with the abortion clinic’s work, a charge he vehemently denied.
“Last September, the American people watched in horror as dozens of heavily armed Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents and more than a dozen vehicles conducted an early-morning raid, with guns drawn, on the home of Mark Houck, his wife, and seven children,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Appropriations Committee chairwoman Kay Granger (R-TX).
“Since then, Mark Houck has been found innocent of all charges, but Attorney General Merrick Garland has refused to admit that the overwhelming use of force against an innocent American citizen was a mistake.”
Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX)
In spite of the widespread criticism of the DOJ and FBI as a result of the Houck case, numerous other pro-life activists have been arrested on the same trumped-up charges. This is in spite of the fact that the FACE Act was originally written to prosecute crimes at both pro-life pregnancy facilities and abortion clinics, as well as to protect houses of worship. However, in spite of its broad mandate, it has been used almost exclusively against pro-life activists. There have been 83 attacks on pro-life pregnancy centers and 145 attacks on Catholic churches since the repeal of Roe v. Wade in June of 2022 with little or no action taken by the DOJ.
For this reason, Rep. Roy and his colleagues believe that the Biden can no longer be trusted to “faithfully implement and enforce the FACE Act,” the letter reads.
“The Biden Administration has proven time and time again that it cannot be trusted to faithfully implement and enforce the FACE Act, as written by Congress. Until such a time, Congress ought to withhold the use of funds for enforcing this law and seriously consider repealing the statute in its entirety.”
Rep. Roy believes Congress must assume oversight of the FACE Act in order to stop “this eminently abused and clearly weaponized federal usurpation of state police powers,” and to take a hard look at the tens of billions of dollars that are being given to the DOJ every year to determine exactly how those funds are being used.
“We are proud to support Rep. Roy’s efforts to defund the FACE Act,” said CatholicVote President Brian Burch this week. “While it ostensibly protects abortion clinics, churches, and pregnancy resource centers, recent events have shown that the Act has become a political weapon wielded by the Biden administration against pro-lifers.”
CatholicVote Director of Governmental Affairs Tom McClusky added: “Defunding the FACE Act is a great first step in holding the DOJ accountable for its failure to apply the law impartially. ”
Co-signers of the letter include Rep.Jeff Duncan, R-SC, Rep. Daniel Webster, R-FL, Rep. Ralph Norman, R-SC, Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-WY, Rep. Eric Burlison, R-MO, Rep. Paul Gosar, R-AZ, Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-GA, Rep. Eli Crane, R-AZ, Rep. James Moylan, R-Guam, and Rep. Dan Bishop, R-NC.
You can help put a stop to politically motivated attacks on innocent pro-life Americans by contacting your Representative today and asking him/her to get behind this important initiative! Click here for your representative’s contact information.
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