Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas pressed Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke Tuesday on the Justice Department’s prosecutions of pro-life activists during a House Judiciary Committee hearing.
Over 100 churches and pregnancy centers have been firebombed, vandalized, graffitied, assaulted and intimidated since the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was leaked in May 2022, according to a May 2023 report from the Family Research Center. Roy asked Clarke how many times the DOJ has used the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which “prohibits threats of force, obstruction and property damage intended to interfere with reproductive health care services,” to protect abortion clinics as opposed to pregnancy centers. (RELATED: House Report Sheds Light On FBI Targeting Of Catholics, Pro-Lifers)
Rep. Chip Roy grills DOJ’s Kristen Clarke on targeting of pro-life activists like Mark Houck: “The numbers I have are, out of 130 uses of the FACE Act since 1994, 126 were in defense of abortion providers, and 4 have been for pro-life Americans/churches.” pic.twitter.com/RCuzcQSKNg
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) December 5, 2023
“And my question is how many FACE Act cases have been filed in defense of abortion providers … versus how many FACE Act cases have been filed in defense of pro-life Americans or churches that have been attacked?” Roy asked.
Clarke replied by saying that the department applies the act “even-handedly” but said she could not provide the exact numbers for how the legislation has been used since its enactment in 1994.
“I will flag for you, Chairman, that we recently had January indictments against two Florida residents for spray painting threats on pregnancy resource centers,” Clarke said.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) speaks during a hearing with the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government on Capitol Hill on July 20, 2023, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“I certainly appreciate that you all did that, but the numbers I have are out of 130 uses of the FACE Act since 1994, 126 were for pro-abortion activists and in defense of abortion providers and four have been for pro-life Americans and churches, and I think that was one of them in January,” Roy said.
Clarke claimed that she couldn’t speak to “what happened in prior administrations” and reiterated that the division is committed to the “full and even-handed enforcement of the FACE Act.” Minutes later Clarke was pressed, yet again, by Republican Rep. Tom McClintock of California, who demanded to know why “what you say and what you do seem to be very different things.”
“The chairman cited 126 prosecutions against pro-life groups and only four against pro-abortion groups under the FACE Act,” McClintock said. “Are these numbers correct and if they are how do you explain them?”
Clarke repeated that she couldn’t speak to “prior administrations.” McClintock asked how many times the act had been used during her tenure had been aimed at pro-lifers, but Clarke refused to give any other details.
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