CEO of CompassCare, a national pro-life network whose medical center in Buffalo, NY was brutally firebombed on June 7, 2022, demands the Department of Justice not charge the arsonists with FACE Act violations. Recently, two pro-abortion activists associated with the domestic terrorist group known as Jane’s Revenge in Florida were indicted by the DOJ with FACE Act violations. In advance of any arrests of pro-abortion terrorists for firebombing CompassCare’s Buffalo medical office, injuring two firefighters, CompassCare CEO, Rev. Jim Harden says, “The FACE Act is unconstitutional on its face. In the name of rule of law, it would be unjust to allow our attackers to be charged with violating an unjust law. We need to return to a civilized order and it should start now.” Harden went on to say, “Before Attorney General Garland is fired for turning the department of justice into a legal firing squad against pro-life people, the DOJ should drop all FACE Act charges currently being prosecuted and the Supreme Court should vacate the law.”
After 79 attacks on pro-life pregnancy centers since the breach of the Supreme Court’s security resulting in the leak of the Dobbs decision on May 2, no arrests or progress of any sort was made until January, six months after the height of the attacks, when CompassCare and the Chicago based public interest law firm, the Thomas More Society, hired private investigators to find the perpetrators. Rev. Harden noted, “Is it a coincidence that only after we commenced our own investigation into the organized pro-abortion domestic violent extremism that arrests are being made? It appears the FBI took their thumb off local police to start following up on leads over eight months old, resulting in belated indictments.”
About the indictments, Rev. Harden says, “It makes me happy to see that we are beginning to make progress on rooting out these terrorists, but using the FACE Act to do it is not progress for the rule of law. Being targeted by domestic terrorists and receiving no justice these last nine months afforded me the opportunity to think more deeply about these things. It has become obvious to me that the Clinton-era FACE Act was designed and has been almost exclusively used by the federal government to usurp the policing power of the state, a violation of the 10th Amendment, selectively prosecuting pro-lifers to silence public pro-life speech and activity, a violation of the 1st Amendment. Further, the FACE Act was implemented to ostensibly protect the exercise of the right of abortion. Since Roe was overturned, the Federal government no longer recognizes a right regarding abortion. Therefore, whether a person’s activity is pro-life or pro-abortion, the federal government cannot be prosecuting a violation of a right it does not recognize. It should be prosecuting violations of actual law.”
It appears the indictment of pro-abortion activists in Florida on January 18 for targeting three pro-life pregnancy centers is the first time the FACE Act was used to indict pro-abortion activists. And despite over 230 likely FACE Act violations perpetrated on pro-life entities in 2022, the only FACE Act indictments came against 26 peaceful pro-lifers.
About the Buffalo firebombers, Rev. Harden says, “It is good to see steps being taken toward holding pro-abortion terrorists accountable for their actions in places like Florida. However, justice needs to be executed justly, according to the constitution.” Current U.S. Code indicates the DOJ does in fact have an interest in charging perpetrators of crimes against pro-life entities with respect to committing an act of domestic terror and conspiracy to commit an act of domestic terror, damage or destruction of property used in interstate commerce, threats made by use of interstate or foreign commerce, interference with commerce by threats or violence, interstate travel to aid in racketeering enterprises all of which can be found in Title 18 of the U.S. Code paragraphs 844, 875, 876, 1951, 1952, especially 2331 and 2332.
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