(LifeSiteNews) — Two pro-abortion activists have been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly vandalizing pro-life pregnancy centers and conspiring “to prevent employees of reproductive health services facilities from providing those services.”
According to a press release published Tuesday by the Biden administration’s Justice Department, the indictment was returned by a federal grand jury in the Middle District of Florida.
The indictment alleges that two Florida residents, 27-year-old Caleb Freestone and 23-year-old Amber Smith-Stewart, engaged in civil rights conspiracy and Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE) Act offenses targeting pro-life pregnancy resource centers.
“According to the indictment, as part of the conspiracy, the defendants targeted pregnancy resource facilities and vandalized those facilities with spray-painted threats,” the DOJ said.
Two Defendants Indicted for Civil Rights Conspiracy and FACE Act Offenses Targeting Pregnancy Resource Centershttps://t.co/TUJFWFZRMd
— DOJ Civil Rights (@CivilRights) January 24, 2023
Freestone and Smith-Stewart are also alleged to have conspired with others to spray-paint threatening messages on the pregnancy centers. The pair and their co-conspirators are alleged to have vandalized a pro-life center in Winter Haven, Florida, with messages including, “If abortions aren’t safe than [sic] niether [sic] are you,” “YOUR TIME IS UP!!,” “WE’RE COMING for U,” and “We are everywhere.”
Winter Haven wasn’t their only target, according to the indictment, which also alleges that the pair attacked pro-life centers in Hollywood, Florida, and Hialeah, Florida.
UPDATE (1/24/23):
Pro-life priest and Red Rose Rescuer Fr. Fidelis Moscinski has been found guilty of violating the Freedom to Access Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.
Yesterday Fr. Fidelis was convicted of the federal crime for a July 2022 “lock and block” rescue he conducted at a Planned Parenthood in Hempstead, New York. The priest is scheduled to be sentenced on April 24 and faces up to six months in federal prison.
Sign the petition to let Fr. Fidelis know you support him and are praying for him.
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UPDATE (10/26/22):
A Pennsylvania court issued a split ruling against a pro-life Franciscan priest and activist arrested after he entered an abortion clinic to help women choose life.
Father Christopher “Fidelis” Moscinski was found guilty of two misdemeanor charges and not guilty of a felony trespass and a misdemeanor resist, for participating in a Red Rose Rescue at a Planned Parenthood.
Fr. Moscinski entered the clinic on August 27, 2021 with red roses and pro-life literature ready to hand out to women and persuading them to choose life for their children.
Fr. Fidelis has participated in many Red Rose Rescues at abortion centers, and for this has been imprisoned multiple times.
He was also previously arrested for trying to save babies in Ohio in June 2021 and in New Jersey in January 2020.
After the court decision, Fr. Fidelis urged people to “continue keeping all pro-lifers anywhere who are facing charges, especially federal charges, in your prayers, and that God can bring some good out of this unjust persecution.”
Sign this petition today to let Fr. Fidelis know you stand with him and his heroic fight to save unborn lives from abortion.
Fellow pro-life activist and Red Rose Rescuer Will Goodman told LifeSite’s Jim Hale that the court’s ruling to drop one felony and reject another was a “big victory.”But the crackdown on pro-lifers continues!
Just recently the Biden administration targeted Fr. Fidelis and other pro-life activists for Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE) violation charges.
This same law was also used by the FBI to raid the home of pro-life Catholic dad Mark Houck last month.
It’s really a disgrace that in America pro-lifers are increasingly being attacked and persecuted simply because they stand for life.
Fr. Fidelis Moscinski needs your prayers and support now more than ever as he continues to fearlessly battle for the unborn.
SIGN THIS PETITION TODAY to tell Fr. Fidelis you stand with him and his courageous fight!
MORE INFORMATION:
‘Big victory’: Felonies tossed in split verdict for priest attempting rescue of unborn
BREAKING NEWS: Father Fidelis Legal Verdict reaction LIVE by Legal team
FBI charges pro-life priest with violating abortion access law one week after Mark Houck raid
Security footage from the Hialeah clinic appears to show a man and a woman walking onto the property before spray-painting messages on the outside walls. It’s unclear if the man and woman are Freestone and Smith-Stewart.
If convicted, the duo could face up to 12 years behind bars along with “three years of supervised release and fines of up to $350,000,” according to the DOJ.
News of the indictment comes after months of silence from the Justice Department as pro-abortion activists vandalized and firebombed pro-life pregnancy centers and churches and made violent threats against pro-lifers.
RELATED: Firebombed pregnancy center questions why violence by abortion backers continues to go unpunished
The Biden administration’s law enforcement agencies have drawn sharp criticism from pro-lifers for their failure to pursue arrests and indictments even as pro-life advocates like Mark Houck and Paul Vaughn were subjected to raids by heavily-armed FBI agents for their alleged violations of the FACE Act.
Last week, the FBI appeared to take a step toward stronger law enforcement action, announcing a $25,000 reward for information about attacks on the pro-life centers.
The move came shortly after the newly-GOP controlled U.S. House of Representatives resolved to create a “Weaponization of Government” Select Committee to investigate “the politicization of the FBI” among other agenda items.
The committee is set to consider 11 instances of such alleged politicization of the FBI and the DOJ, including the use of the FACE Act to arrest pro-lifers like Houck and Vaughn.
The indictment of the pro-abortion activists also coincides with Houck’s criminal trial, which is taking place this week and is slated to conclude Friday.
Houck was arrested by heavily-armed FBI agents last year after he allegedly pushed an abortion clinic “escort” who his attorneys say had been verbally harassing his young son using vulgar language. Houck now faces two felony charges for allegedly violating the FACE Act, which his legal team argues doesn’t even apply in his case. If convicted, he faces 11 years in prison and fines totaling as much as $350,000.
In a statement published on the Thomas More Society’s website, Houck’s attorney, Peter Breen, called the situation “a sidewalk squabble that has turned into a federal case.”
“It should have ended in the state courts, which threw this matter out, but unfortunately the Biden Department of Justice has decided to take an intimidation tack against pro-life people and people of faith,” Breen said.