Early in the morning of September 23, 2022, pro-life activist Mark Houck was awakened by the nightmare of 25 armed FBI agents banging on his door. They gained entry, held his family at gunpoint and took him into federal custody on charges he violated the “Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.
The issue stemmed from an incident in October of the prior year (2021) when an abortion activist confronted Mr. Houck and his son while peacefully protesting.
Bruce Love, a 72-year-old volunteer at a Philadelphia Planned Parenthood began shouting at Houck and his son, aggressively in his face.
Mr. Houck shoved Mr. Love out of the way, and the abortion industry used the shove to claim Houck committed violence and federal law enforcement got involved.
Today, Mark Houck was found not guilty of the federal charges, by a jury in Pennsylvania.
(Fox News) – […] Houck was arrested in his home by multiple FBI agents in September 2022. U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, celebrated the news of Houck’s acquittal with a tweet. “Good. Begs question of the $48 billion we give to DOJ…,” he wrote.
Shortly after Houck’s arrest last fall, his attorney Peter Breen told Fox News Digital that his client’s arrest was an “outrageous abuse of power” from the Department of Justice that was intended to intimidate pro-life Americans.
“The message from the Biden Department of Justice is pure intimidation against pro-life people and people of faith,” said Breen, senior counsel of the Thomas More Society. “Why in the world would you send this phalanx of officers heavily armed to this family’s home, violate the sanctity of their home, frighten their children? Why would you do that, other than just to send a message?
Bill Devlin, a pastor who has ministered with Houck for more than 20 years, told The Christian Post last year that appeared federal prosecutors were “stretching the statute of the FACE Act.” (more)
Mr. Houck attorney’s response: “We are, of course, thrilled with the outcome,” stated Peter Breen, Thomas More Society Executive Vice President & Head of Litigation. “Mark and his family are now free of the cloud that the Biden administration threw upon them. We took on Goliath – the full might of the United States government – and won. The jury saw through and rejected the prosecution’s discriminatory case, which was harassment from day one. This is a win for Mark and the entire pro-life movement. The Biden Department of Justice’s intimidation against pro-life people and people of faith has been put in its place.”
