Three Floridians pleaded guilty Friday to targeting employees of crisis pregnancy centers for providing alternatives to abortion, the Justice Department announced.
Between May and July 2022, Caleb Freestone, Amber Smith-Stewart and Annarela Rivera carried out a series of attacks against pregnancy resource centers, vandalizing the buildings, according to a DOJ press release. The trio admitted to attacking the buildings at night while wearing masks and dark clothing. They also spray painted the buildings with threats, including “If abortions aren’t safe than neither [sic] are you,” “YOUR TIME IS UP!!” “WE’RE COMING for U” and “We are everywhere.” (RELATED: Crisis Pregnancy Center Says It Had To Hire Security After Man Showed Up With A Machete)
The defendants made the threats amid widespread vandalism against pro-life organizations after it was revealed in 2022 that the Supreme Court would be overturning Roe v. Wade. Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody in March 2023 announced that her office was taking action against groups like Antifa and Jane’s Revenge members who vandalized crisis pregnancy centers in the Sunshine State, according to a news release.
“Antifa and Jane’s Revenge are criminal organizations and must answer for their crimes in Florida. I am taking action to hold their members accountable for attempting to intimidate and threaten law-abiding citizens in our state,” she said.
CompassCare, a pro-life crisis pregnancy center in NY filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE) against 2 pro-abortion vandals last week, standing up against the Department of Justice for selectively dismissing pro-life complaints & legal cases. https://t.co/CnUpsPSFuK
— SG⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@GREENESJ333) October 11, 2023
“These defendants vandalized pregnancy resource centers with threatening messages meant to terrify the employees of those centers,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said.
“Violence and threats have no place in the national discourse about reproductive rights. The Justice Department is committed to holding accountable those who seek to interfere with access to reproductive health services in our country, without regard to the point of view of the defendants or their victims.”
The Justice Department has been criticized for bias in how its approach to cases such as these, and has focused heavily on targeting pro-life activists for protesting at abortion clinics. Indeed, the agency has convicted multiple people for violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act for blocking entrances to abortion facilities. One of their targets included a 75-year-old woman who was sentenced to two years in prison, despite her apparent health problems.
