WASHINGTON D.C. – Yesterday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) released an exhaustive report detailing how the Biden administration “weaponized” the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act to target peaceful pro-life Americans.

Enacted in 1994 and signed by President Bill Clinton, the FACE Act prohibits the use of force, threats, or physical obstruction to interfere with individuals seeking abortion services or exercising their right to religious freedom at places of worship.

The 882-page report, released by the “DOJ Weaponization Working Group” and based on a review of more than 700,000 internal records, outlines findings that the Biden DOJ exerted biased enforcement of the FACE Act through selective prosecution, collaboration with pro-abortion groups, and prosecutorial misconduct. While the Biden administration was busy focused on prosecuting peaceful pro-life activists, the report notes that officials largely ignored violence against churches and pregnancy resource centers. The report also outlines the corrective actions taken by the current DOJ to “right the wrongs of the prior administration,” stated a DOJ press release.

“This Department will not tolerate a two-tiered system of justice,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche in the press release. “No Department should conduct selective prosecution based on beliefs. The weaponization that happened under the Biden Administration will not happen again, as we restore integrity to our prosecutorial system.”

The Justice Department working group thoroughly reviewed “internal discussions, case files, and prosecutorial decisions” under the FACE Act concluding the Biden DOJ “weaponized” the law in the following ways:

• Selective Prosecution: The report states the Biden DOJ pursued significantly harsher sentences for pro-life defendants (averaging 26.8 months) compared to pro-abortion defendants (12.3 months).

• Collaboration With Advocacy Groups: The report notes that the DOJ worked closely with pro-abortion organizations, such as the National Abortion Federation, Planned Parenthood, and Feminist Majority Foundation to track activists, build dossiers, and even help the groups secure private grant funding.

• Prosecutorial Misconduct: Conclusions in the report include DOJ officials withheld evidence from defense counsels, screened jurors based on religious beliefs, and used aggressive arrest tactics over self-surrender. One high-profile case included Catholic father and pro-life activist Mark Houck, who was charged for pushing a Planned Parenthood employee when the employee followed them and verbally harassed his son. According to the report, the Biden DOJ “declined” a request from Houck to voluntarily surrender opting instead for 16 FBI agents to arrest him at his home. Last week, Houck won a seven-figure settlement with the DOJ and had been previously acquitted in court. 

• Biased Enforcement: The report states that while the DOJ provided extensive support to abortion facilities, it “ignored and downplayed” vandalism and attacks against pregnancy resource centers and houses of worship. Even though the U.S. Senate requested the Biden DOJ use the FACE act to prosecute “numerous violent attacks against churches," then-Attorney General Merrick Garland “did not pursue a single FACE Act case” for a church during this time. In comparison, the Biden DOJ only charged five people for attacks and vandalizing pro-life pregnancy centers while charging 45 pro-life activists in connection with pro-life demonstrations, the report reads.

Acting AG Blanche announced several steps to “restore integrity” to the system: 

• Pardons: President Trump issued full and unconditional pardons to many targeted pro-life Christians on January 23, 2025.

• Lawsuit Dismissals: The DOJ has dismissed three specific civil lawsuits against pro-life activists in Pennsylvania, Florida, and Ohio.

• Policy Shift: A new directive restricts future FACE Act prosecutions to “extraordinary circumstances” or cases with significant aggravating factors. 

Current DOJ leadership maintains that these actions are necessary to end a “two-tiered system of justice” and ensure federal law is not used as an “enforcement arm of pro-abortion special interests.”

Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “It is reprehensible for the government to align itself with the abortion industry to prosecute and penalize peaceful pro-life Americans while ignoring actual violence against pregnancy centers and churches. The federal government should sever itself completely from the abortion industry, including all federal funding. It is also time to repeal the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act so the government cannot not again be weaponized against pro-life speech under a future administration.”

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