Prosecution and defense rest in second FACE Act trial

Witness testimony in the ongoing federal trial of three pro-life activists – Joan Andrews Bell, Jonathan Darnel, and Jean Marshall – continued on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. Charges stem from an October 2020 rescue action at the D.C.-based Washington Surgi-Clinic (WSC), which is run by abortionist Dr. Cesare Santangelo. Each defendant faces up to 11 years in prison.

Wednesday, which was abbreviated to accommodate Judge Kollar-Kotelly’s schedule, was dominated by the testimony of Caroline Davis. Davis participated in the WSC rescue, for which the defendants have been indicted on charges of conspiracy against rights and violations of the FACE Act. Davis is not being prosecuted for her participation in the WSC rescue; however, she was indicted on the same charges for her participation in a rescue which took place in Sterling Heights, Michigan, in August of 2020. She accepted a plea deal in which she agreed to testify against her fellow activists in exchange for a reduction in the charges against her.

Davis’s testimony largely mirrored that which she gave in the previous trial of five other defendants. She said she had decided to testify against her fellow activists for two reasons: because she didn’t want to go to jail, and because she has had “a complete change in perspective” concerning rescue generally.

“I used to be part of a cult,” Davis said, referring to those who participate in rescue as a whole. She also accused her former mentor Calvin Zastrow of being “a cult leader.”

READ: Woman known as ‘matriarch of pro-life activism’ is facing 11 years in prison

Using the pseudonym “Tina Smith,” the WSC clinic administrator testified on Thursday morning. She, too, testified in the previous trial. Smith said she has been working at WSC since 1988, and that the facility sees a variety of “patients,” including the “seven-year-old kid who has been raped.” However, she failed to elaborate on what an abortion facility could possibly do for a child that young. 

Smith, as in the last trial, touted her alleged Catholic faith, pulling out the rosary she wears as a necklace, and stating that Our Lady of Sorrows is her patron saint. This is particularly ironic, as Our Lady of Sorrows has been frequently invoked in prayerful pro-life efforts. One prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows asks “[t]hat the parents, grandparents and health care professionals who kill the innocent by abortion may receive the strength to seek Christ’s forgiveness.”

Smith characterized the rescuers as “aggressors” who used various tactics to “harass” WSC’s clients. She claimed rescuers used prayer, in particular, as a method of harassment, saying activists were only praying “to make [clients] feel guilty.” 

Smith also admitted that her co-worker, “Sasha Proctor,” shoved defendants as they tried to enter WSC and clarified that the implement she used to repel the rescuers as they entered the facility was a mop, not a broomstick, as has been previously reported. Herb Geraghty, who was a defendant in the previous trial, testified that Smith used the mop to jab activists, not merely to “hold the line” as she claimed on Thursday.

The prosecution rested following Smith’s testimony. 

All three defendants chose not to testify. Joan Andrews Bell, who represented herself, chose not to give a closing statement. Marshall’s and Darnel’s attorneys both presented their closing statements Thursday with arguments underscoring what they described as uncertainty surrounding their clients’ roles and intentions during the Oct. 2020 rescue. The defense also criticized former rescuer Caroline Davis. The government’s rebuttal highlighted communications from defendant Jonathan Darnel in which he discussed the prospect for arrests and breaking the law. 

Jury instructions are scheduled for Friday.

Editor’s Note: Sam Dorman contributed to the reporting featured in this article.