WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) — Caroline Davis testified again in federal court against fellow pro-life activists as part of a plea agreement with the federal government, characterizing the entire pro-life rescue movement with which she used to be involved as a “cult.”
Davis’s plea agreement, which she received in exchange for reduced charges and sentencing on two other FACE Act violation charges in Michigan, also mandates that she be indefinitely available to the federal government in the future.
With apparent zeal, the pro-life rescuer-turned-prosecution witness offered to the court every detail she could recall about the October 22, 2020 “traditional rescue” at the Washington-Surgi Clinic, in which she participated without being charged for violations of FACE. Confessing that she “no longer believed in rescue,” and with clear derision for her previous “mistaken” way of thinking, Davis characterized the entire pro-life rescue movement as a “cult.”
Referring to the blocking of entrances in the abortion facility intended to prevent women from killing their unborn babies, Davis said, “At the end of the day I’m glad I didn’t participate in it because I know it’s wrong, now.”
When asked by the defense, Davis did affirm that none of the pro-lifers at the clinic that day used physical force or violence – an important point for the jury, since in the verdict of the first trial it was a special finding of “use of force” that allowed the defendants’ actions to be characterized as a “crime of violence,” resulting in immediate incarceration.
Davis also admitted that she must testify “whenever the government calls upon me.”
“At the end of the day I have nothing to hide. I have answered everything truthfully. If I tell the truth, great, I’m abiding by the law, as I should be. And if I don’t tell the truth then I get the rug pulled out from underneath me,” she said, referring to the terms of her agreement with the government and the possibility of facing charges should she be deemed to have not complied.
According to the cooperation agreement – which Davis signed in addition to the “guilty” plea she offered to the Eastern District Court of Michigan – the federal government can call upon Davis at any time in the indefinite future and demand her full cooperation regarding information the government may wish to obtain about this rescue or similar pro-life activity. If the government is not satisfied with her cooperation, or deems anything to have been untruthful or incomplete, or if by her actions she is deemed to have undermined her agreement with the government, Biden’s DOJ may resurrect the felony FACE Act charges with which she was indicted in Michigan and may press charges with the full penalty of the maximum time in prison allotted for violations of the FACE Act.
READ: Former rescuer avoids jail by agreeing to indefinitely provide Biden admin with info on pro-lifers
The deal thus allows the government to resurrect FACE Act felony charges with years in prison if it deems the agreement has not been kept. It contains no time limit and means that Davis is now beholden to the U.S. government should they wish for her to assist in the prosecution of other pro-lifers in the future. Unless she retracts her plea agreement or the FACE Act is struck down, Davis has obliged herself to inform the government on pro-life activity whenever they wish to tap into the information she may have.
FBI agent Michael Biscardi revealed this week that he had interviewed Caroline Davis – somehow persuading this 24-year-old paralegal to turn from being a zealous pro-lifer who for two years on a nearly daily basis counseled women against abortion to suddenly become the star witness in two trials that will likely land her former colleagues behind bars for over a decade.
READ: ‘Targeted by the government’: Former rescuer flips, testifies against pro-lifers on trial in DC
After Davis’s testimony in the first trial, Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising (PAAU) executive director Caroline Taylor Smith told LifeSite’s Jim Hale that she felt Davis’s testimony was “very shocking.” The PAAU leader said she believes the government “specifically targeted” Davis because of her potential to be swayed. According to Smith, Davis acknowledged in her testimony that she is “easily manipulated.”
“I think the government’s point was that she was manipulated into rescuing,” said Smith. “But I think it also spoke to the fact that she possibly was manipulated into testifying against us.”
READ: Shocker: Pro-lifer turns government witness against former rescue colleagues
Pro-life activists Joan Andrews Bell, Jean Marshall, and Jonathan Darnel face charges of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act and committing conspiracy against rights for blocking access to the Washington Surgi-Clinic in downtown Washington, D.C., in a “traditional rescue” in October 2020. Pro-life “rescues” involve activists physically intervening to try to stop women from going through with abortions; they were highly effective in the 1980s and 1990s in closing abortion clinics.
Defendants face more than a decade behind bars. Fellow rescuer Jay Smith, 32, has already accepted a plea deal. A fifth defendant, Paulette Harlow, 73, has been deemed unfit to stand trial.
The second trial comes after five other anti-abortion activists – Lauren Handy, 29; John Hinshaw, 67; William Goodman, 52; Heather Idoni, 61; and Herb (Rosemary) Geraghty, 25– previously stood trial for their involvement in the same rescue late last month. All five were found guilty by the heavily pro-abortion jury and immediately incarcerated for what was deemed a “crime of violence.” The Thomas More Society has attempted to appeal the decision on behalf of Lauren Handy.
Closing arguments and a possible verdict for the second trial are expected before the end of this week.
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