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On September 27, we wrote in this Faith and Freedom Daily column that Mark Houck, a devout Catholic and father of seven had been arrested as a team of 15-20 authorities showed up at his house at 7 AM in the morning to arrest him for an incident that a judge had already thrown out of court.
We suggested Christians---specifically pro-life Christians should expect more of the same in the coming days.
Sadly that is now happening.
Reports show that 11 more pro-life activists were arrested last week by armed FBI agents. All for various charges related to the advocacy for life at abortion clinics.
Is the Justice Department seeking to “frighten and intimidate Christians” with its recent campaign targeting anti-abortion protesters?
Be informed, not misinformed.
11 more pro-life activists arrested.
Paul Vaughn, 55, has been arrested at his farmhouse in Centerville, Tennessee, and charged with violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances [FACE] Act stemming from a March 2021 pro-life demonstration outside an abortion facility in Mount Juliet, Tennessee.
This is the same charge that was leveled against Mark Houck---the father of seven whom we wrote about in September in this column.
Stephen Crampton, Thomas More Society senior counsel, called the arrest of Mr. Vaughn in front of his wife and seven of his 11 children “yet another attempt on the part of the Biden Department of Justice to frighten and intimidate Christians and committed pro-life advocates.”
“We believe the evidence will show that Paul did not violate the FACE Act, and we look forward to a chance to prove that in court,” Crampton said in a Tuesday statement.
The federal indictment against the 11 activists came with the Biden administration invoking the access law to ensure abortion availability in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s June 24 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson. Mr. Biden sharply criticized the court’s 6-3 decision and vowed to employ his administration’s assets to protect abortion access.
Apparently, this is his action in response to his promise to the abortion industry.
🚨 One of the pro-life leaders targeted by Biden's DOJ sent me footage of the early morning FBI raid on his family home. Paul Vaughn was placed in handcuffs by armed FBI agents in front of his children just before school drop-off. Watch as his wife pleads for answers mid-arrest: https://t.co/lUP6tJOSzW pic.twitter.com/XeYComC6mZ
— Mia Cathell (@MiaCathell) October 7, 2022
The Thomas Moore Society also said this:
In an eerily familiar video, the wife of 55-year-old Paul Vaughn captured armed FBI agents, guns drawn, swarming the property of the family’s Centerville, Tennessee farmhouse, frightening her children and dragging her husband away. Thomas More Society attorneys are defending Vaughn against alleged violations of the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, commonly known as the FACE Act. The Biden Department of Justice claims that Vaughn, the President of Tennessee Personhood, is guilty of “conspiracy against rights secured by the FACE Act” as well as of violating the FACE Act itself, even though he never obstructed anyone. The U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Middle District of Tennessee indicted Vaughn and six others for conspiracy, and additionally four other individuals for committing FACE Act violations. The prosecution of these eleven life advocates results from an incident that occurred over a year and a half ago, in March 2021, which consisted of nothing more than a peaceful pro-life witness at an abortion facility in Mount Juliet, Tennessee.
The heavy-handed Department of Justice’s FBI raid comes less than two weeks after a similar strike force stormed the house of Mark Houck.
As I noted above, we wrote about Houck at the time.
The Mount Juliet incident, for which Vaughn was seized, consisted of several pro-life advocates sitting in a hallway outside of the abortion clinic singing Christian hymns, reading scripture, and praying.
During the occasion, Vaughn, who was never arrested by the local police, was recording the protest and serving as a liaison between life advocates and the police to ensure the safety of all involved. No one was hurt, and no property was damaged during the pro-life witness. For Vaughn’s peaceful presence at the event, the Biden Department of Justice has levied him with charges that carry sentences of up to 11 years in prison and fines of up to $260,000.
Biden's war on life and biblical faith.
Mr. Gallagher, Ms. Idoni, Mr. Zastrow, Mr. Boyd, Ms. Davis, Mr. Vaughn, and Mr. Green also have been charged with a civil rights violation for conspiracy to prevent the clinic from providing, and patients from receiving, reproductive health services.
I've asked myself several times as I have been following and researching this developing story; Is this really happening in America?
To say faith leaders are becoming concerned would be an understatement.
Crampton says, "Ironically, the FACE Act was established to federalize and criminalize any interference with a person’s attempts to obtain an abortion. Abortion is no longer legal in Tennessee, and the peaceful pro-life witness at the Mount Juliet abortion facility resulted in no injury, destruction, or damage, yet 11 life advocates are facing Draconian penalties and federal prosecution.”
How far will an American president go with this kind of action against Christians with whom he disagrees theologically?
Some say the president is merely trying to uphold the law by taking these actions.
Attorney Crampton says, “Contrast all this with the June 2022 firebombing of a pregnancy resource center in Buffalo, New York. More than four months later, there have been no arrests, no serious investigation, and not even any suggestion by law enforcement officials that this was a violent arson attack motivated by abortion supporters, despite damning evidence that clearly points in that direction.”
I personally believe this is more about "using" the law than "upholding" it---And weaponizing our country's institutions to advance a secular humanist, so-called "progressive" agenda.
Sooner than later, I personally believe we are going to begin to see certain portions of Scripture coming under fire---actually falling under the myriad of "discrimination," "inclusivity," and "bigotry" laws that have been written in the last couple of decades.
The target will be, in my mind, formed around the LGBTQIA+ so-called constitutional equal rights narrative.
It will have a religious overtone, arguments will be made that Christians no longer practice a number of Old Testament rules, the world has moved on, and so must we.
And the Scriptures, they will say, that appear to condemn homosexuality have been misunderstood and wrongly interpreted.
They already claim that the sin of Sodom was not homosexuality, it was the lack of hospitality.
While President Obama was stumping for so-called "same-sex marriage," he referred to Scriptures that condemn homosexuality as "marginal" and "obscure," suggesting that Paul and Jesus held conflicting beliefs about homosexuality.
Takeaway
The moral fabric of our nation is being ripped and torn as we see the same leaders who closed our churches in the name of "covid" now begin to punish those who hold different religious beliefs than those of our Leftist leaders.
We've seen a football coach fired for praying publicly---now we're seeing people arrested for voicing their disagreement with killing unwanted unborn children.
Pray for our country.
Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Vigilant. Be Engaged. Be Prayerful.