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Last Updated on January 30, 2023
The pro-life activist who was arrested over FACE Act charges during an FBI raid on his home in September was acquitted by a federal jury Monday.
Mark Houck, a pro-life author and father of seven, was accused of violating the FACE Act after getting into a confrontation with an abortion supporter in Oct. 2021.
The Face Act prohibits “violent, threatening, damaging, and obstructive conduct intended to injure, intimidate, or interfere with the right to seek, obtain, or provide reproductive health services.”
Houck’s attorneys claimed the abortion supporter, a 72-year-old man, was harassing Houck’s 12-year-old son and yelling at the child, which led to Houck jumping in to protect his son.
Houck’s not-guilty verdict saved him from potentially serving 11 years in prison and paying a $350,000 fine.
Peter Breen, Houck’s attorney, told Fox News the DOJ arrest of Houck was an “outrageous abuse of power” aimed to scare pro-life Americans.
“The message from the Biden Department of Justice is pure intimidation against pro-life people and people of faith,” Breen wrote. “Why in the world would you send this phalanx of officers heavily armed to this family’s home, violate the sanctity of their home, frighten their children? Why would you do that, other than just to send a message?”
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National File previously reported on the FBI’s early-morning raid of Houck’s home. Multiple armed FBI agents went to Houck’s residence around 7:00 AM in the morning to arrest him back in September 2022.
“Rather than accepting Mark Houck’s offer to appear voluntarily, the Biden Department of Justice chose to make an unnecessary show of potentially deadly force, sending twenty heavily armed federal agents to the Houck residence at dawn this past Friday,” Breen said at the time.
“In threatening form, after nearly breaking down the family’s front door, at least five agents pointed guns at Mark’s head and arrested him in front of his wife and seven young children who were terrified that their husband and father would be shot dead before their eyes,” he added.
Peter Breen is the Thomas More Society Vice President and Senior Counsel.
Stay tuned to National File for any updates.
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