Roy cast doubt on Clarke’s and the Biden Administration’s interpretation of the controversial Law of Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE), as this Law “protects both abortion clinics as well as pregnancy resource centers and places of worship. However, the prosecution division under the FACE Law shows a significant bias towards the prosecution of violations of the FACE Law, which involves abortion clinics.”
Roy referred specifically to pro-life activist Mark Houck who was exonerated in February 2023 by the U.S. District Court for East Pennsylvania, following the FBI’s violent arrest of him in his home, after an altercation with a Planned Parenthood volunteer. Chip Roy questioned Kristen Clarke subtly : “Have you apologized [to Houck], on behalf of the Department of Justice, for this serious violation of his civil rights?”
Clarke replied: “We follow the events and apply the law. That’s our job.” Roy rebutted: ”So the answer to that is no.”
Chip Roy also pointed out that the leak of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs draft decision “led to generalized demonstrations and attacks on pro-life facilities. In fact, after the leak, more than one hundred pro-life facilities were vandalized or damaged, including arson.” Moreover, “218 Catholic churches were attacked.”
“In face of this increase, one would hope that the Civil Rights Division would take a step forward and protect the civil rights of these Americans.” But they didn’t do so. In fact, in 2022 the Department initiated 26 prosecutions under the FACE Law for incidents in abortion clinics. The Department identified four individuals in Florida to prosecute for painting threats with aerosol on pregnancy support centers. This was the first time in the history of thre United States that the FACE Law was used against pro-abortion protestors.
Asked the question “Can you tell us how many cases of the FACE Law have been filed since it was promulgated in 1994? “ Attorney General Clarke hesitated and avoided the question. “The [FACE Law] is an important law. We apply it impartially,” although she acknowledged that “there are no statistics on the number of cases.”
In regard to how many cases have been filed for abortion providers’ defense or pro-abortion activists’ defense, as opposed to defense cases of pro-life elements or churches that have been attacked, Roy pointed out to Clarke: “The numbers I have are that, of 130 uses of the FACE Law since 1994, 126 were… in defense of abortion providers and four for pro-life Americans and/or churches.”
Clarke repeated that her Division is “committed to the full and impartial application of this important Federal Law.”
California Republican congressman Tom McClintock challenged Clarke: “The concern of many of us here, has to do with the unequal application of the laws depending on the political identity of those involved. [Roy] gave many examples that involve everything, from violent acts against pro-life clinics to antisemitic hate crimes.”
Clarke rejected again to give concrete statistical proofs to back her affirmations.
