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#Trump on Thurs pardoned 8 people convicted in federal court in #Michigan of illegally blockading #AbortionClinics in Sterling Heights & Saginaw & of #conspiracy to violate the rights of clinic #patients & #employees.
The 8 were among 24 that Trump pardoned after they'd been accused of blockading #abortion clinic entrances.
The pardons came ahead of Friday's annual anti-#abortion protest March for Life in Washington.
Anti-abortion advocates had been pushing for #Trump to #pardon the anti-abortion protesters charged with violating the 1994 Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which is intended to protect #AbortionClinics from #obstruction & #threats & was adopted amid a rise in #violence against #AbortionProviders.
The 8 people in the #Michigan case who received #Trump #pardons are Calvin & Eva Zastrow, Chester Ghallagher, Heather Idoni, Caroline Davis, Joel Curry, Justin Phillips & Eva Edl.
A federal jury #convicted 7 of the defendants in Aug in connection w/their blockade of an #AbortionClinic in Sterling Heights on Aug 27, 2020.
An 8th defendant, Davis, took a plea deal & was sentenced to a year of probation in Sept.
The 7 were each #convicted of a #felony #conspiracy against rights & a Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (#FACE) Act offense, the #DOJ said. 2 defendants, Idoni & Edl, were also convicted of 2nd FACE Act offenses arising out of a blockade of a clinic in Saginaw in 2021.
Under the FACE Act, 1st-time offenders can be fined or imprisoned for up to 1 yr & subsequent offenders can be fined or imprisoned for up to 3 yrs, or both. #Conspiracy against rights is punishable by up to 10 yrs in #prison.
Aside from religious defenses, Art Weiss, an atty for Calvin Zastrow, said his client believed the use of #FACE Act was unconstitutional since it relied in part on #RoeVWade, which #SCOTUS overturned prior to the cases.
Weiss also criticized the charges for #conspiracy against rights. The #CivilRights statute makes it illegal to conspire to injure, oppress, threaten or intimidate people exercising their rights [which is exactly what the 8 people did].
In total, #Trump pardoned 23 anti-#abortion activists, including those #convicted of blockading a reproductive health clinic & intimidating staff & patients.
#Felon47 #ReproductiveRights #CivilRights #WomensRights #RightToHealthcare #Healthcare #AbortionIsHealthcare #intimidation #pillory #privacy #MaleSupremacy #evangelism #law #USpol
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn0yzg9pj97o
@Nonilex
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