I Was Jailed for 18 Months Under the FACE Act. It’s Time to Repeal This Unconstitutional Law

R eports that the Trump administration has charged journalist Don Lemon and others under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act should alarm anyone who cares about free speech, life, and the Constitution. I have some experience with this: In 2023, I was prosecuted under the FACE Act, convicted, and ultimately served a year and a half in federal prison for participating in a nonviolent sit-in at a late-term abortion clinic. When the Biden administration’s Reproductive Justice Task Force targeted pro-lifers like me, conservatives rightfully denounced the selective enforcement of the law and questioned its constitutionality. Many even called for it to be repealed.

The truth is, the FACE Act was unconstitutional the day it was signed, and it remains unconstitutional today. I believe this so strongly that although I was ultimately pardoned last January, I was willing to stay longer in federal prison if it meant we could get my case in front of the Supreme Court to make that argument and get the law overturned.

At its core, the FACE Act allows the federal government to enforce extremely disproportionate penalties for nonviolent speech activity based on the speaker’s viewpoint, message, and location. One doesn’t need to endorse the message or tactics of anti-ICE demonstrators to be concerned about a federal government that has the power to send Americans to prison for over a decade for a nonviolent protest.

Ordinary criminal law at the local and state level already disallows trespassing, disorderly conduct, blocking entrances, resisting arrest, harassment, and other charges that can be brought against those who participate in nonviolent civil disobedience, whether it takes place at an abortion clinic, a church, or anywhere else. State and local governments enforce those laws every day, and they are fully capable of doing so in a way that is proportionate and constitutional while still maintaining public order.

Some conservatives are applauding these charges because they see the law finally being used against people they oppose. That reaction is understandable, but it is shortsighted. A bad law does not become a good one just because it is pointed at someone else. Utilizing the FACE Act against our “enemies” just legitimizes its future use against us.

If we go down this path, we will almost certainly get stuck in a dangerous cycle wherein each new administration will inherit an unconstitutional weapon to aim and fire at a new set of political opponents, and it will only be a matter of time before the FACE Act is weaponized against pro-life activists like me again.

A free society should protect the right of citizens to express dissent via nonviolent protest, even when that protest is disruptive, uncomfortable, or unpopular. It should certainly not be the role of the executive, whether it be Joe Biden or Donald Trump, to pick and choose what types of nonviolent speech activity have the potential to send activists to federal prison for years. That power is incompatible with the First Amendment, and it has already caused profound and unnecessary harm.

This moment can serve as an opportunity to find common ground beyond our ideological disagreements and work to build a culture that respects the right to dissent, regardless of viewpoint or location. Republicans and Democrats in Congress should work together to repeal the FACE Act once and for all.