Pro-life activist acquitted of federal charges (CNA)

A Pennsylvania jury has acquitted pro-life activist Mark Houck of violating the federal FACE (Freedom of Access to Clinics) law in a confrontation with an abortion-clinic escort.

Although local prosecutors had declined to pursue a complaint about the incident, FBI agents arrested Houck at gunpoint in an early-morning raid on his home, and the Department of Justice pressed charges that could have brought an 11-year prison sentence.

Houck, who reportedly shoved a clinic escort after a verbal confrontation, said that the man had been harassing his 12-year-old son.

Pro-life leaders have pointed out the contrast between the Biden administration’s aggressive pursuit of the Houck case and its failure to bring charges against those responsible for scores of violent attacks on pro-life institutions in recent months.