A pro-life activist has avoided jail time for attending a peaceful demonstration in the wake of selective prosecution from the Department of Justice.
Paul Vaughn, a pro-life father of 11, was sentenced to three years of supervised release, despite facing a maximum combined penalty of more than a decade in federal prison. The judge in the case noted that “no one was hurt in any way” by his protest and said it was “entirely non-violent.”
In March 2021, Vaughn participated in a gathering in a hallway outside an abortion facility where the group prayed, sang hymns, and urged women not to kill their unborn children. Demonstrations like this are common across the country, and no one who participated in the sit-in was charged with committing any violence.
After the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, President Joe Biden’s DOJ started to target pro-life demonstrators. In the summer of 2022, the DOJ created an abortion-access task force and then actively searched for cases that might violate the Clinton-era Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, despite mostly ignoring the firebombings of pro-life pregnancy centers.
Vaughn was one of the victims of this crackdown, and was indicted in October 2022. Two days after his indictment, FBI agents raided his home at 7:20 a.m. with weapons drawn and handcuffed him in front of his children.
Vaughn and five others were charged with felonies for the incident, while four additional attendees — including a World War II concentration camp survivor — were charged with misdemeanors. They were all charged with FACE Act violations, while those with felonies were additionally charged with a supposed “conspiracy against rights.”
The prosecution tried to portray Vaughn as willfully deceiving police, despite a police negotiator testifying that he had been helpful and peaceful. An abortion facility employee claimed to be “trapped inside the building during the incident,” but video showed this was not the case.
Vaughn was found guilty in January, in what his attorney called a “frustrating setback” for the pro-life community. However, he is expected to appeal his conviction.
His selective prosecution is just one example of many, as the Biden administration has made a habit of egregiously abusing its power. In a somewhat similar case, pro-life activist Mark Houck was recently acquitted of flimsy charges the DOJ had brought against him.
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For all the time the Left has spent complaining about former President Donald Trump potentially “weaponizing” the federal government if he is reelected, it has been silent about Biden’s obvious weaponization of the justice system.
The saddest part about this story is that the doctors who murder unborn children every day face no legal consequences for the atrocities they have committed, while those who stand up for life are forced to fear for their futures.
