Jury selection begins Tuesday at the Fred Thompson federal courthouse in Nashville, Tennessee, after attorneys delivered their closing arguments in a FACE Act case against six pro-life activists who engaged in a peaceful sit-in outside an abortion clinic in nearby Mt. Juliet on Mar. 5, 2021.
The pro-life activists — Chet Gallagher, Coleman Boyd, Heather Idoni, Cal Zastrow, Paul Vaugh, and Dennis Green — face up to 11 years in prison on charges of violating the FACE Act and conspiring against the rights of others.
Some of the defendants are also facing indictments in Michigan under the FACE Act for singing and talking to women outside of an abortion facility there.
BREAKING: This morning, the home of pro-life activist Chet Gallagher was raided by the FBI, guns drawn, over his peaceful activism to save preborn children. Several other activists have also been called to turn themselves in over the same incident.
— Lila Rose (@LilaGraceRose) October 5, 2022
Congress passed the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, and former President Bill Clinton signed it into law in 1994. The law prohibits anyone from physically blocking access to the entrance of a facility that provides abortions, intimidating anyone entering an abortion facility or interfering with their freedom of movement on the facility property.
The six Nashville pro-life activists gathered together in a hallway of an office building where the Carafem Health Center Clinic operates. The group stood outside the clinic’s office and sang hymns, prayed to God, and counseled women arriving to use the clinic’s services not to get an abortion.
Attorneys for the defendants emphasized the event was peaceful and not intimidating and that none of the pro-life activists conspired to block anyone’s entry into the clinic. One of the lawyers pointed out that the group was not yelling or carrying any weapons.
Paul Vaughn, pro-lifer who was raided by the FBI, appears on Tucker: "Fortunately as a Christian family we do a lot of studying about historic Christianity. They know there are people who have been persecuted and picked on by bully-tyrants just like they are in America today." pic.twitter.com/UN20F3VXjt
— American Firebrand (@AmFirebrand) October 11, 2022
Another defendant’s lawyer explained the group gathered in the hallway because not everyone outside the building would be arriving to visit Carafem. She said the group gathered there that day to offer advice and help “consistent with their religious beliefs” to women considering an abortion and that their purpose was “rescuing the unborn,” not denying any visitors entry.
Audio from a Facebook live stream of the events that day revealed the pro-life activists singing and reading aloud from the Bible four two hours after police tried to disperse the group. “Hey guys, we’re gonna need you guys to disperse outside okay? This is your last warning. I need everybody to step outside. Go to the sidewalk,” an officer says in the livestream audio.
