{"id":2328482,"date":"2024-08-21T14:30:01","date_gmt":"2024-08-21T18:30:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/michigan-jury-finds-seven-guilty-of-face-act-violation\/"},"modified":"2024-08-21T14:33:22","modified_gmt":"2024-08-21T18:33:22","slug":"michigan-jury-finds-seven-guilty-of-face-act-violation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/michigan-jury-finds-seven-guilty-of-face-act-violation\/","title":{"rendered":"Michigan Jury Finds Seven Guilty Of FACE Act Violation"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/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%2Fmichigan-jury-finds-seven-guilty-of-face-act-violation%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=2328482&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 Department of Justice (DOJ) has been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pro-abortion-arsonists-have-firebombed-three-pro-life-groups-in-a-month\/\" title=\"Pro-Abortion Arsonists Have Firebombed Three Pro-Life Groups In A Month\">targeting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/americans-remember-the-48th-annual-march-for-life\/\" title=\"Americans remember the 48th annual March for Life\">pro-life activists<\/a><\/a> for their efforts to dissuade women from having abortions. Recently, a jury in\u2063 Detroit found seven activists guilty \u200bof civil \u2063rights conspiracy and violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act for blocking the entrance of \u2063an abortion clinic in\u2064 Michigan in August 2020. The \u200bFACE Act, enacted in 1994, criminalizes \u200bintimidation\u2064 or interference with individuals \u200dseeking abortions. The activists \u200bface potential penalties of up to 11 years in prison and fines\u200b up to $250,000.<\/p>\n<p>The convicted include Calvin and Eva Zastrow,\u2063 Chester Gallagher, Justin Phillips, and Joel Curry, among others. Gallagher, a \u2062former police officer turned\u2062 pro-life advocate, argued that their actions were \u2063guided by biblical principles. The sentencing \u2062is set for a later date.<\/p>\n<p>The \u2062recent charges come after the Supreme Court&#8217;s 2022 decision\u200b to\u200c overturn Roe v. Wade, which has led to increased enforcement of the FACE Act. The DOJ formed a \u200cReproductive Rights Task Force\u200d aimed at addressing safety risks associated with reproductive healthcare and has begun retrospectively charging\u200c activists \u200cfor past actions, \u2064marking a significant escalation in\u2062 legal actions against <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sen-hawley-says-biden-abortion-policies-are-an-insult\/\" title=\"Sen. Hawley says Biden abortion policies are an insult\">pro-life groups<\/a>.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The Department of Justice (DOJ) continues to hound pro-life activists who go to abortion businesses and try to convince pregnant women not to kill their babies. <\/p>\n<p>A Detroit, Michigan, jury <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/seven-defendants-convicted-federal-civil-rights-conspiracy-and-freedom-access-clinic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">found<\/a> seven pro-lifers guilty Tuesday of engaging in a civil rights conspiracy and violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/103rd-congress\/senate-bill\/636\">(FACE) Act<\/a> for standing and sitting in front of the door of the Northland Family Planning Clinic in Sterling Heights, Michigan, Aug. 27, 2020.<\/p>\n<p>The 1994 Clinton-era FACE Act makes it a federal crime to intimidate or interfere with someone getting an abortion. Combined with the conspiracy charge the DOJ has added to recent FACE charges, the combined convictions carry a penalty of up to 11 years and up to $250,000 in fines. In this case, the conspiracy was about posting and live-streaming the group&rsquo;s actions on social media.<\/p>\n<p>According to the DOJ <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/press-release\/file\/1569401\/dl\">indictment<\/a>, those convicted in this case sat in front of the abortion business&rsquo; door and refused to move when women tried to get inside. Later, the police asked them to move and they did not move until they were arrested. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Guided by faith, those convicted in this case say the Bible specifically tells them to act on behalf of voiceless babies scheduled for abortion, citing Proverbs 24:11, &ldquo;Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The convicted include Calvin Zastrow, a Michigan preacher, and his daughter Eva Zastrow, 26, a missionary worker; and Chester Gallagher of Tennessee, a former police officer who left his job and joined the pro-life movement when he realized they were trying to stop a &ldquo;murder in progress,&rdquo; as he often says.<\/p>\n<p>Gallagher <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thomasmoresociety.org\/news\/thomas-more-society-attorneys-seek-dismissal-of-kkk-act-charges-in-latest-face-act-convictions\">presented<\/a> defense arguments on his own behalf but was aided by Thomas More Society attorneys.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Yet again, the Biden-Harris Department of Justice has decided to characterize the actions of peaceful pro-lifers as a felony &lsquo;Conspiracy Against Rights,&rsquo; punishable by over a decade in federal prison. After the overturning of <em>Roe v. Wade<\/em>, we believe the FACE Act to be unconstitutional, and we will continue to advocate on behalf of peaceful pro-life citizens like Chet Gallagher, Lauren Handy, and Paul Vaughn, who have been targeted with harsh prosecution by this Department of Justice,&rdquo; Thomas More Society Senior Counsel Steve Crampton said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thomasmoresociety.org\/news\/thomas-more-society-attorneys-seek-dismissal-of-kkk-act-charges-in-latest-face-act-convictions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">statement<\/a>. &ldquo;We also believe that the U.S. Supreme Court&rsquo;s recent decision in <em>Fischer v. United States<\/em> confirms that the Department of Justice&rsquo;s novel strategy to inflict maximize pain upon peaceful pro-lifers by adding a charge of felony Conspiracy Against Rights cannot be squared with the law and we stand ready to make that case.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Also found guilty were Justin Phillips, a missionary, and Joel Curry, 31, an evangelist, both of Michigan.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Apparently there were 40 babies scheduled to die that day, at least six to nine women came back. That means at least 30 women had reconsidered,&rdquo; Curry told The Federalist in a phone interview after the guilty verdict. He was grateful they were not taken immediately to prison, as has happened in previous FACE cases. The convicted will be sentenced at a later date.<\/p>\n<p>Heather Idoni, 59, a mother of 15, including 10 adopted from Ukraine, was also found guilty. Idoni, a former Christian bookstore owner, is currently held in federal prison for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-dc\/pr\/ninth-defendant-sentenced-federal-civil-rights-conspiracy-and-freedom-access-clinic#:~:text=WASHINGTON%20%E2%80%93Heather%20Idoni%2C%2059%2C,patients%20from%20receiving%2C%20reproductive%20health\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">previous FACE Act conviction<\/a> in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n<p>Also convicted was Eva Edl, 89, of South Carolina.<\/p>\n<p>Both Edl and Idoni believe they may die before being released from prison. If they are sentenced to the full 11 years, Edl would be 100 at the end of the sentence. These two have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/seven-defendants-convicted-federal-civil-rights-conspiracy-and-freedom-access-clinic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">another FACE violation<\/a> for blocking a door at a Saginaw, Michigan, abortion mill on April 16, 2021.<\/p>\n<p>As a child, Edl was taken by train cattle car as a prisoner to the Gakova concentration camp in Yugoslavia, where she faced starvation and was surrounded by death, but ultimately was able to escape.<\/p>\n<p>If people in her town would have stood on the train tracks to block the train and spoken up about the children being taken to the camp, Edl has said in interviews, the government might have stopped sooner. Today she considers sitting in front of the doors of abortion businesses her way of sitting on the train tracks.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Cracking Down on FACE<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Most of the pro-life activists in this case have been going to abortion businesses for years and have often been successful at persuading women to save their babies&rsquo; lives. Many offer women continued help after they decide to continue their pregnancy.<\/p>\n<p>None had been charged with FACE in previous years, but charges started coming after the Supreme Court&rsquo;s June 2022 <em>Dobbs<\/em> decision, which overturned <em>Roe. v. Wade<\/em>. Soon President Joe Biden issued an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/presidential-actions\/2022\/07\/08\/executive-order-on-protecting-access-to-reproductive-healthcare-services\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">executive order<\/a> directing his administration to address possible &ldquo;heightened safety and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pro-lifers-indicted-by-biden-doj-for-2020-blocking-of-doors-at-michigan-abortion-facility-three-years-ago\/\" title=\"Pro-Lifers Indicted by Biden DOJ for 2020 Blocking of Doors at Michigan Abortion Facility Three Years Ago\">security risks related<\/a> to the provision of reproductive healthcare services.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In July 2022, the DOJ announced it was forming the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/reproductive-rights\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Reproductive Rights Task Force<\/a>, listing enforcement of the FACE Act as one of its goals.<\/p>\n<p>Since the formation of the task force, the DOJ has reached back in time and charged pro-lifers with the FACE Act multiple times. Calvin Zastrow, Eva Zastrow, Heather Idoni, Eva Edl, and Chester Gallagher were previously found guilty in January for praying, singing church hymns, blocking the door, and talking to women at a Tennessee abortion mill in March 2021. They were not charged until October 2022. By the time they were charged, Tennessee had outlawed abortion except in rare cases, and the abortion mill where they prayed has <a href=\"https:\/\/carafem.org\/nashville-pause\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">suspended<\/a> its operations.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this week U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, sent a <a href=\"https:\/\/roy.house.gov\/sites\/evo-subsites\/roy.house.gov\/files\/evo-media-document\/2024-08-19%20Roy%20to%20Wray%20re%20FACE%20Act%20testimony.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">letter<\/a> to FBI Director Christopher Wray questioning the DOJ&rsquo;s weaponization of the FACE Act against pro-life Americans.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;&ldquo;Since January 2021, the Civil Rights Division has charged 24 FACE Act cases against 55 defendants, with only two of these cases &mdash; consisting of five defendants &mdash; originating from attacks on pregnancy resource centers. This data is particularly troubling in light of the fact that there have been at least 90 individual cases of attacks on pro-life organizations and pregnancy resource centers since the May 2022 leak of the Supreme Court&rsquo;s draft opinion for the <em>Dobbs v. Jackson Women&rsquo;s Health Organization<\/em> case.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>But at a recent hearing, Wray testified it was the opposite: that more abortion-related violent extremism investigations focused on violence against pro-life facilities.<\/p>\n<p>Roy&rsquo;s letter requests that documents proving Wray&rsquo;s claim be provided to the Committee on the Judiciary by Sept. 2.<\/p>\n<p>Former President Donald Trump said in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/258089\/trump-condemns-biden-doj-for-targeting-of-catholics-and-pro-life-activists\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">June<\/a> that if elected, he would let those charged with the FACE Act out of prison.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Beth Brelje is an elections correspondent for The Federalist. She is an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lara-logan-challenges-media-to-ask-certain-questions-about-afghanistan\/\" title=\"Lara Logan Challenges Media To Ask Certain Questions About Afghanistan\">award-winning investigative journalist<\/a> with decades of media experience.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Department of Justice (DOJ) is persistently targeting pro-life activists who visit abortion clinics to persuade pregnant women against terminating their pregnancies. A jury in Detroit, Michigan, recently convicted seven pro-life individuals for participating in a civil rights conspiracy and breaching the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. This occurred when they stood and sat in front of the Northland Family Planning Clinic&#8217;s entrance on August 27, 2020. The FACE Act, established during the Clinton administration in 1994, makes it a federal offense to intimidate or obstruct someone seeking an abortion. The combination of conspiracy charges with recent FACE violations could result in sentences of up to 11 years and fines reaching $250,000. The indictment states that those convicted blocked access to the clinic and only moved after police intervention led to their arrest.<\/p>\n<p>The defendants assert that their actions are guided by religious beliefs urging them to advocate for unborn children at risk of abortion, referencing Proverbs 24:11 which calls for rescuing those destined for death. Among those found guilty are Calvin Zastrow, a preacher from Michigan; his daughter Eva Zastrow; Chester Gallagher from Tennessee; Justin Phillips; Joel Curry; Heather Idoni; and Eva Edl from South Carolina.<\/p>\n<p>Curry noted that on the day they were arrested, around 40 babies were scheduled for abortions but many women reconsidered after encountering them outside the clinic. He expressed relief that they weren&#8217;t immediately imprisoned as has happened previously with other FACE cases.<\/p>\n<p>Idoni is currently serving time due to a prior conviction under the FACE Act while Edl fears she may not survive her sentence if given the maximum term due to her age\u2014she would be 100 upon release if sentenced fully.<\/p>\n<p>Many involved have been active at abortion clinics for years without facing charges until recently following changes initiated after Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court in June 2022. President Biden subsequently ordered his administration to address safety concerns related to reproductive healthcare services leading to increased enforcement actions under the FACE Act by forming a Reproductive Rights Task Force.<\/p>\n<p>Since its establishment, this task force has retroactively charged several pro-lifers with violations dating back before these new policies were enacted despite many having previously engaged peacefully at clinics without legal repercussions.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. Representative Chip Roy has raised concerns about how aggressively DOJ is applying these laws against pro-life advocates compared with attacks on pregnancy resource centers which have seen numerous incidents since mid-2022 but fewer prosecutions related directly against perpetrators of such violence according to FBI testimony.<\/p>\n<p>Former President Donald Trump has also indicated he would consider releasing individuals charged under this act if he returns to office<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104,"featured_media":2328483,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Michigan-Trial-scaled.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[38828,5806,5265,33211,4601],"class_list":["post-2328482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-face-act","tag-guilty","tag-jury","tag-legal-news","tag-michigan"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Michigan-Trial-scaled.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2328482","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\/104"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2328482"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2328482\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2328483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2328482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2328482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2328482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}