On Wednesday, October 12, Republican lawmakers sent a letter to the FBI requesting information about that agency’s enforcement of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. The FACE Act is designed to protect access to abortion facilities, but also protects houses of worship and pregnancy resource centers. Attacks against the latter two have increased exponentially since the leaking of the draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. However, reports of FACE Act arrests against perpetrators of these crimes have been all but nonexistent, while arrests of pro-lifers on FACE Act charges have skyrocketed under the Biden administration.
The letter, addressed to FBI Director Wray, begins by expressing concern with the “continued politicization” of that agency: “The recent rise in high-profile FBI investigations into pro-life Americans raises well-founded concerns that the FBI has amassed too much power and has become a partisan cudgel wielded by the Biden Administration at the behest of progressive activists against political opponents and dissenters.”
The letter cites several recent cases where pro-life activists were arrested and/or questioned by the FBI, including cases in which local authorities had either previously sentenced or dismissed charges against those same individuals. “These are not federal law enforcement matters and represent an abuse of the FACE Act,” the letter states. It continues:
Overzealous prosecutions under the FACE Act weaponize the power of federal law enforcement against American citizens in what should firmly be state and local matters. Further, these abuses of federal power against pro-life Americans based solely on their beliefs undermine the American people’s trust in the FBI. This is particularly true since there have been no reports of FBI investigations or DOJ prosecutions in relation to the more than 72 pregnancy resource centers and 80 Catholic churches that have been attacked or vandalized since the Dobbs leak – heinous, violent, and organized crimes across state lines that are also subject to prosecution under the FACE Act.
The letter requests a congressional briefing by October 20 on six main points:
- the number of FACE Act investigations opened in in each respective year spanning the period of 2019-2022,
- details concerning how many of these investigations concern abortion facilities, houses of worship, and pregnancy centers,
- how many cases involve subjects with charges previously sentenced or dismissed by state authorities,
- criteria used by the FBI to determine whether to pursue a FACE Act case where charges were previously dismissed by state courts,
- details about resources currently dedicated to FACE Act investigations, and
- any new guidance, memos, or internal correspondence that may have been issued by the Department of Justice (DOJ) since the Dobbs decision was handed down by the Supreme Court.
The letter was signed by Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), and 38 other Republican Members of Congress.
