On Wednesday, March 1, I attended the Senate Judiciary Committee where several U.S. senators grilled Attorney General of the United States Merrick Garland for abusively weaponizing the FBI against pro-life Americans.
In reaction to the fall of Roe, the Department of Justice under the leadership of AG Garland created the “Reproductive Rights Task Force.” Not long after, the FBI raided the home of pro-life sidewalk counselor Mark Houck, husband and father to 7 children. He was arrested, charged with federal FACE Act violations, and faced a potential 11-year prison sentence & up to $350,000 in fines for defending his son during an altercation with a Planned Parenthood facility escort. He was eventually acquitted.
However, Houck was not the only one who has been charged. Over 30 peaceful, non-violent activists have been indicted under the FACE Act, facing fines and time behind bars separated from their families.
“Why did the Justice Department do this? Why did you send 20-30 SWAT style agents and a SWAT style team to this guy’s house when everybody else had declined to prosecute and he had offered to turn himself in?” demanded Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.). “The children were screaming. They feared for their lives.”
Next, Hawley noted that this directly contradicts AG Garland’s own memorandum about the use of force at the Justice Department. This memorandum says that officers may only use force that is objectively reasonable to effectively control an incident.
“Are you telling me that in your opinion as Attorney General, it was objectively necessary to use 20-30 SWAT style agents with long guns and ballistic shields for these people?”
Garland abdicates responsibility saying that “decisions were made on the ground by FBI agents.”
Hawley fires back saying, “You are the Attorney General of the United States. You are in charge of the Justice Department and yes, sir – you are responsible. … Do you think it [SWAT- style invasion] was objectively reasonable? They followed your guidelines.”
The FBI, which works under the direction of Attorney General Merrick Garland, came to the home of Mark and Ryan-Marie Houk with 20 heavily armed SWAT officers to arrest Mark for his pro-life advocacy.
Thank you, Senator @HawleyMO, for demanding answers. pic.twitter.com/D0OkSEqRaw
— Lila Rose (@LilaGraceRose) March 2, 2023
With folded hands across the table, AG Garland averted the questions entirely, saying that the facts are simply not how Senator Hawley described.
Perplexed, Hawley asked which facts he is disputing. “The children weren’t there? That there weren’t long guns there? That there weren’t agents there?”
The driving point of the exchange was that the Justice Department is targeting people of faith and Catholics specifically for their faith views. But Senator Hawley was not alone in calling out this abuse. Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) also grilled Garland.
Between nervous sips of water and excessive blinking, AG Garland listened to Senator Cruz call him out for sending two dozen agents in body armor to arrest a pro-life sidewalk counselor but not devoting resources to prosecute people who are violently firebombing pregnancy resource centers.
Despite being the highest law enforcement official in the United States, Garland welcomed help from Senator Cruz, saying, “if you have any information on who those people are we would be glad to have it.”
Under pressure, Garland repeatedly emphasized that the FBI agents make their own tactical decisions on how to make arrests, yet did not reply to why this SWAT-style invasion of a pro-lifer’s home was objectively necessary or reasonable.
What led to the arrest of Houck and the indictment of over a dozen other pro-life Americans is what is known as the FACE Act, which “prohibits anyone from using force, threats of force or physical obstruction against any person seeking or providing reproductive health services.” What many do not know is that the FACE Act also protects houses of worship, but is rarely if ever used to defend acts against them.
The FACE Act, instead of being used to protect citizens, is seemingly being weaponized against those protesting against human injustice. Weaponizing the FBI against pro-life Americans is an abuse of federal law enforcement.
Editor’s Note, 3/2/23: This article has been updated since its original publication.
