DOJ Pledges To End ‘Weaponization’ Of FACE Act, Drop Three Ongoing Cases

The Department of Justice (DOJ) pledged to end the federal government’s weaponization of the law, instructing the Civil Rights Division to dismiss with prejudice three FACE Act cases that targeted pro-life protesters, according to a memorandum obtained by the Daily Caller.

The DOJ under former President Joe Biden used the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act to prosecute a relatively large number of pro-life protesters. The 1994 law prohibits “violent, threatening, damaging, and obstructive conduct intended to injure, intimidate, or interfere with the right to seek, obtain or provide reproductive health services.” The majority of the pro-life protesters Biden’s DOJ prosecuted under the FACE Act were nonviolent.

“Even though more than 100 crisis pregnancy centers, pro-life organizations, and churches were attacked in the immediate aftermath of the Dobbs decision, nearly all prosecutions under the FACE Act have been against pro-life protesters. That is not the even-handed administration of justice,” reads the DOJ memorandum the Daily Caller obtained.

Future abortion-related FACE Act prosecutions will only be permitted in “extraordinary circumstances,” such as cases involving “death, serious bodily harm, or serious property damage,” the memorandum reads. (RELATED: Trump Pardons Pro-Lifers Ahead Of March For Life)

Any further abortion-related FACE Act action will require authorization from the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, according to the memorandum.

The memo instructed the Civil Rights division to dismiss three cases: United States v. Connolly, United States v. Zastrow and United States v. Citizens for a Pro-Life Society.

In United States v. Connolly, defendant Matthew Connolly did not physically harm anybody. The DOJ lawsuit alleged that he “violated the FACE Act by intentionally creating a physical obstruction at a reproductive health clinic in Philadelphia.” The complaint did not allege that Connolly blocked the clinic’s access. It said he locked himself in the clinic’s bathroom, forcing them to shutdown for the day and reschedule 44 appointments.

In United States v. Zastrow, defendants blocked the front door. The DOJ complaint does not describe any of them physically harming anyone.

Trump pardoned 24 pro-life protesters Thursday, including the defendants in United States v. Zastrow.

“President Trump campaigned on the promise of ending the weaponization of the federal government and has recently directed all federal departments and agencies to identify and correct the past weaponization of law enforcement,” the memo states.