17. Department of Justice · Notable
End the double standard in the FACE Act prosecution campaign
Printed page 558 17. Department of Justice
“By engaging in disparate and viewpoint-based enforcement of an already controversial law like the FACE Act against pro-life activists, the DOJ has needlessly undermined its credibility with law-abiding people of faith. The department should make every effort to uphold equal protection of the law and avoid politically motivated and viewpoint-based prosecutions.”
What has happened
- Done
The department published its findings and acted on them. The Working Group's report concluded the previous administration had enforced the Act selectively against pro-life defendants — seeking average sentences of 26.8 months against them and 12.3 months against pro-abortion defendants — and the department dismissed with prejudice the three civil FACE Act suits still pending against pro-life activists, took personnel action against those responsible, and issued a directive that prosecutors may bring abortion-related FACE Act actions only in extraordinary circumstances or with significant aggravating factors. The only FACE Act suit the department filed in the window ran the other way, against violent protestors at a New Jersey synagogue.
- Attempted
The Attorney General placed "criminal prosecutions under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act for non-violent protest activity" on the Weaponization Working Group's list of subjects for review. A commitment to examine the campaign; the campaign's cases were still on the books.
Research log
What was searched, and what didn’t count as evidence
Research notes
The pardons of 2025-01-23 are recited in the 2026-04-14 release; no separate whitehouse.gov proclamation for them appears among the White House presidential actions we keep and search, so the release carries the fact.
- Action
- eliminate
- Object
- FACE Act prosecutions of pro-life activists
- ID
- 1553