A Pennsylvania pastor, Mark Houck, a father of seven, was arrested in his home after a federal grand jury indicted him for “assaulting” a Planned Parenthood escort in front of a Philadelphia abortion clinic even though police and the district attorney declined to pursue charges filed by the 72-year-old “victim.”
According to several news reports approximately two dozen armed FBI agents showed up at the pastor’s home to take him into custody. The FBI disputes the number of agents who took part in the arrest and adamantly asserts a SWAT team was not involved.
Why are the feds involved in a minor altercation that took place on a Philadelphia street? Well, the FACE Act makes it a federal crime punishable up to 11 years in prison and a $350,000 fine “to injure, intimidate, and interfere with anyone because that person is a provider of productive healthcare.”
That’s not what happened according to Houck. He was merely defending his 12-year-old son from the escort’s verbal abuse.
The FACE Act (Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances) is yet another example of federal government (over) reaction to acts of violence that had occurred at abortion (reproductive?) centers. Instead of local enforcement apprehending, trying, and convicting the perpetrators of violent acts, the Congress passed, and President Clinton signed the FACE Act. This is another egregious example of the federal government’s abuse of power.
The solution is to repeal the FACE Act and leave it to local and state law enforcement to deal with acts of violence. However, major city district attorneys and no cash bail laws have turned law enforcement on its head as individuals arrested for vicious assaults have either been released within 24 hours or not prosecuted.
If Republicans take control of both the House and Senate next year after they wipe out the Democrats in November, they should pass legislation to defederalize as many crimes as possible. Let President Joe police state Biden veto the repeal of so-called federal crimes and then have the Democrats defend the police state tactics of the FBI.
Common sense and federalism must prevail if the rule of law is to be upheld.