Reports 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 Many even called for it to be repealed.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.
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