News Release
For Immediate Release: 4.14.26
Contact: John Manning, media@firstliberty.org
Department of Justice Report Exposes Biden Administration’s Political Weaponization of FACE Act
Washington, DC—Today, the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) issued an explosive report exposing the Biden Administration for selectively enforcing the FACE Act against pro-life groups in coordination with pro-abortion organizations while ignoring increasing violence against pro-life pregnancy centers.
“The Biden administration’s selective, politically-motivated enforcement of the FACE Act was an unconscionable abuse of power,” said Jeremy Dys, Senior Counsel for First Liberty Institute. “Unequally applying the law denied justice to our clients and undermined our republic. Worse, deploying the FACE Act as a means of political cover is an admission that the Biden administration could have done more to protect Americans nationwide. Instead, the Biden DOJ chose politics over justice. We are grateful to the current Department of Justice for revealing this injustice and hope it will take immediate steps to ensure it never happens again.”
The report is available here.
The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (“FACE”) Act protects access to religious institutions, including churches, as well as abortion centers and pregnancy resource centers.
According to the DOJ’s research, “Though the FACE Act was supposed to protect both pro-choice and pro-life facilities, Biden DOJ senior leadership and Task Force Members provided extensive support to abortion clinics, yet the Biden DOJ often ignored and downplayed vandalism and attacks against pregnancy resource centers or houses of worship.” In addition, Biden’s DOJ “affirmatively asked the abortion groups about pro-life individuals’ travel and constitutionally protected advocacy” and collaborated with pro-abortion organizations to create “dossiers contain[ing] personally identifying information, such as addresses, photographs (including of spouses and minor children), names of associates and affiliated ministries, information about their upcoming travel plans or planned protests, and even drivers’ license numbers.”
During the Biden administration, First Liberty Institute represented several pro-life pregnancy care centers who suffered threats, violence, and property damage following the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs. Despite presenting evidence to the Biden DOJ and inviting further investigations, the Biden DOJ launched just a single FACE Act lawsuit in Florida—an act that now appears to have been political cover for the Biden administration. While First Liberty successfully litigated that case on behalf of Heartbeat of Miami and alongside former Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, the Biden DOJ’s selective, politically-motivated prosecution of the arsonists and vandals that attacked pro-life reproductive health facilities denied justice to many others.
# # #
About First Liberty Institute
First Liberty Institute is the largest legal organization in the nation dedicated exclusively to defending religious freedom for all Americans.
To arrange an interview, contact John Manning at media@firstliberty.org.
 |
|
|
