(August 20,2024 – Detroit, Michigan) On August 20, 2024, following an 11-day trial in Detroit, Michigan, federal court, seven pro-life advocates were found guilty on charges of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act and engaging in a “Conspiracy Against Rights”—charges brought by the Biden-Harris Department of Justice. Thomas More Society attorneys aided Chester Gallagher, a former police officer, who opted to present defense arguments on his own behalf.

The combination of FACE Act and “Conspiracy Against Rights” charges—recently deployed by the Biden-Harris DOJ to prosecute peaceful life advocates, including Lauren Handy, Paul Vaughn, and others—carries a potential sentence of more than 10 years in prison. In pre-trial proceedings, Thomas More Society attorneys filed a Motion to Dismiss the felony “Conspiracy Against Rights” charge, arguing that the United States Supreme Court’s June 28, 2024, decision in Fischer v. United States prevents the Department of Justice’s use of the statute to multiply the potential prison time associated with non-violent, first-time FACE Act charges.  

Steve Crampton, Thomas More Society Senior Counsel, reacted: “Yet again, the Biden-Harris Department of Justice has decided to characterize the actions of peaceful pro-lifers as a felony ‘Conspiracy Against Rights,’ punishable by over a decade in federal prison. After the overturning of Roe v. Wade, we believe the FACE Act to be unconstitutional, and we will continue to advocate on behalf of peaceful pro-life citizens like Chet Gallagher, Lauren Handy, and Paul Vaughn, who have been targeted with harsh prosecution by this Department of Justice. We are optimistic that our Motion to Dismiss the felony conspiracy charges will receive full and fair consideration before the Court. We also believe that the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Fischer v. United States confirms that the Department of Justice’s novel strategy to inflict maximize pain upon peaceful pro-lifers by adding a charge of felony Conspiracy Against Rights cannot be squared with the law and we stand ready to make that case.”

The “Conspiracy Against Rights” statute, a part of the “Ku Klux Klan Act,” was passed in 1870 primarily to guard the rights of recently emancipated African Americans, as granted by the Reconstruction Amendments, against rampant violence by groups like the Ku Klux Klan. More recently, however, the Biden-Harris DOJ has used a novel reinterpretation of the law to apply this federal felony conspiracy statute against peaceful pro-life advocates who demonstrate abortion.

U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Leitman has taken the motion under advisement and has set a full briefing schedule for the Motion to Dismiss to be argued and considered. 

Read Defendant Chester Gallagher’s Motion to Dismiss Count One in United States of America v. Calvin Zastrow, et al., filed by Thomas More Society attorneys and Chester Gallagher, on July 22, 2024, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan – Southern Division, here.

Read Defendant Chester Gallagher’s Reply in Support of Motion to Dismiss Count One in United States of America v. Calvin Zastrow, et al., here.

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