{"id":1661469,"date":"2022-09-28T06:24:04","date_gmt":"2022-09-28T10:24:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1661469"},"modified":"2022-09-28T06:24:20","modified_gmt":"2022-09-28T10:24:20","slug":"attorney-fbi-raid-of-catholic-pro-life-speaker-a-new-low-for-justice-department","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/attorney-fbi-raid-of-catholic-pro-life-speaker-a-new-low-for-justice-department\/","title":{"rendered":"Attorney: FBI Raid of Catholic Pro-Life Speaker a &#8220;New Low&#8221; for Justice Department"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fattorney-fbi-raid-of-catholic-pro-life-speaker-a-new-low-for-justice-department%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1661469&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The lead attorney in the case involving pro-life speaker Mark Houck said that sending a team of heavily armed federal agents to his client\u2019s home to arrest him in front of his wife and children on Sept. 23 represents a \u201cnew low\u201d for the U.S. Department of Justice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRegular law-abiding citizens should not fear 20 heavily armed agents at their door to drag them out while trying to enjoy their morning coffee. This is outrageous,\u201d said Peter Breen, vice president and senior attorney at the Thomas More Society, a national non-profit law firm.<\/p>\n<p>Breen said that federal law enforcement usually reserves such shows of force for \u201ca drug lord or a mafia boss\u2014that\u2019s how they came out to the Houck family home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Houck, 48, a Catholic pro-life speaker, author, and father of seven from Kintnersville, Pennsylvania, faces two counts of violating the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE Act).<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2484233\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2018\/04\/04\/2018-04-04T004513Z_1_LYNXNPEE3302W_RTROPTP_4_CALIFORNIA-YOUTUBE-SHOOTING-1200x800.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2484233 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2018\/04\/04\/2018-04-04T004513Z_1_LYNXNPEE3302W_RTROPTP_4_CALIFORNIA-YOUTUBE-SHOOTING-1200x800.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a> San Mateo County SWAT team officers near Youtube headquarters following an active shooter situation in San Bruno, California, U.S., April 3, 2018. (Reuters\/Elijah Nouvelage)<\/figure>\n<p>Both charges stemmed from an altercation with a patient escort outside a Planned Parenthood clinic in October 2021.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHere\u2019s what we know,\u201d Breen told The Epoch Times in a phone interview. \u201cWe know this [raid] was done at main justice out of Washington, D.C., and someone had to approve that size of a raid to execute an arrest warrant when the defendant\u2019s attorney had offered to bring him in.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo that has to be approved at a high level within the Department Of Justice\u2014possibly from the attorney general himself. But, certainly, one of his top people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Houck was scheduled to be in federal court in Philadelphia today, Sept. 27, at 1:30 p.m. for his arraignment.\u00a0If convicted, he faces up to 11 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and fines up to $350,000.<\/p>\n<h2>\u2018Political Prosecution\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cAs we go into the arraignment today, we are confident in our legal defenses,\u201d Breen said. \u201cWe know this is a political prosecution intended to intimidate pro-life people and people of faith.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis prosecution is being run at the highest levels of the Biden Department of Justice to make a point to people of faith and pro-life people [to scare them] away from advocating for rights and advocating against abortion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Houck\u2019s indictment alleges that he twice assaulted a volunteer patient escort outside the Planned Parenthood Elizabeth Blackwell Health Center in Philadelphia on Oct. 13, 2021.<\/p>\n<p>According to a DOJ press release announcing Houck\u2019s arrest, the clinic volunteer attempted to escort two patients leaving the clinic when Houck \u201cforcefully shoved\u201d the man to the ground.<\/p>\n<p>In the second alleged assault, Houck confronted the escort and shoved him to the ground in front of the clinic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAssault is always a serious offense, and under the FACE Act, if the victim is targeted because of their association with a reproductive health care clinic, it is a federal crime,\u201d said U.S. Attorney Jacqueline Romero in the Sept. 23 press release.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur office and the Department of Justice are committed to prosecuting crimes which threaten the safety and rights of all individuals.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>\u2018Victim The Aggressor\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Breen, during the phone interview, identified the alleged victim as Bruce Love, 72, saying the evidence shows Houck was defending his son from Love\u2019s alleged verbal attacks outside the clinic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn this case, Bruce Love was the aggressor all the way through. The facts will bear that out. We will make that case in court,\u201d Breen said.<\/p>\n<p>Breen said that federal prosecutors using the FACE Act rests on the false presumption that Roe v. Wade is still the \u201claw of the land\u201d and that abortion is constitutionally protected.<\/p>\n<p>On June 24, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 legislation that made abortion a federal right in the United States, turning the matter back to individual states.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe very basis for the FACE Act has been seriously undermined. Even more so, this case involves state-level issues, not federal issues,\u201d Breen said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe allegations of the Biden Department of Justice are about an altercation between two people on a public sidewalk. That is not a federal issue, and Mark Houck did nothing wrong in defending his son. And he certainly did not violate federal law.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While Love claimed to be the victim, Breen said, the Philadelphia district attorney did not move forward with prosecuting the case.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven after Mr. Love filed a private criminal complaint, the state court threw that complaint out,\u201d Breen added, \u201cpartly because he stopped showing up for hearings. He certainly did not act like someone who was the victim of a supposed crime.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Breen said his organization remained in contact with DOJ officials, advising they had \u201cno good legal theory\u201d to indict Houck for violation of the FACE Act.<\/p>\n<p>If the DOJ chose to indict, Breen added, Thomas More Society attorneys were ready to present Houck \u201cwhenever and wherever they wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Unnecessary Show of Force<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cEven if they were going to go and serve an arrest warrant on Mr. Houck, they could have sent a single car with a couple of agents. They could have given him enough time to get dressed and go. They did not need guns drawn and pointed at him and then to have him shackled and taken away.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was 7 a.m. The family had just woken up. This is an outrageous abuse of American citizens. It violated the sanctity of their family home. It traumatized those poor children. How much did the taxpayers waste sending 20 heavily armed agents to this family home?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Breen said the next thing he knew, Houck was in custody.<\/p>\n<p>He said he is also confident that Houck will prevail in court, having defended clients in other FACE Act cases during the Obama administration.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe fully expect to prevail in the end. However, you can never predict. We have strong defenses. Our client is innocent. We are going to fight this very robustly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Saying Houck\u2019s heavy-handed arrest demonstrates a \u201cnew low\u201d on the part of the DOJ, it also\u00a0signifies the agency is \u201cthoroughly corrupted and abusing power entrusted to it by the people of this country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would say to the Biden Department Of Justice that your message is received. We will strongly and vigorously respond in court\u2014and the court of public opinion\u2014that what you are doing is wrong and it\u2019s illegal. We are going to put a stop to it,\u201d Breen said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"author_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"one_author_block round\">\n<div class=\"top_row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/author-allan-stein\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Allan-Stein.jpeg\" alt=\"Allan Stein\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Follow<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Allan Stein is an Epoch Times reporter who covers the state of Arizona.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The lead attorney in the case involving pro-life speaker Mark Houck said that sending a team of heavily armed federal agents to his client\u2019s home to arrest him in front<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1661469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1661469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1661469"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1661469\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1661469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1661469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1661469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}