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Three people plead guilty to vandalizing Florida pregnancy resource centers
Three Florida residents have pled guilty to attacking pro-life pregnancy resource centers in Florida in 2022.
Caleb Freestone, Amber Smith-Stewart, and Annarella Rivera pleaded guilty to conspiring to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate employees of the pregnancy resource centers they targeted. The three allegedly vandalized the buildings between May and July 2022 with spray-painted threats including, “If abortions aren’t safe than niether [sic] are you,” “YOUR TIME IS UP!!,” “WE’RE COMING for U,” and “We are everywhere.” They admitted to carrying out the crimes at night while wearing masks and dark clothing to disguise themselves.
“These defendants vandalized pregnancy resource centers with threatening messages meant to terrify the employees of those centers,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said. “Violence and threats have no place in the national discourse about reproductive rights. The Justice Department is committed to holding accountable those who seek to interfere with access to reproductive health services in our country, without regard to the point of view of the defendants or their victims.”
“The FBI works diligently to safeguard the civil rights of our citizens,” added Acting Special Agent in Charge Rodney Crawford of the FBI Tampa Field Office. “We and our law enforcement partners will not tolerate those who conspire to attack facilities providing these lawful reproductive health services.”
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“Federal law protects providers who render reproductive health care and those who seek their services,” said U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg for the Middle District of Florida. “Neither should be subject to unlawful intimidation or threats of harm. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners in protecting access to reproductive health care and federally prosecuting those interfering with that right.”
Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date. Freestone, Smith-Stewart, and Rivera each face a maximum of 10 years in prison.
Editor’s note 6/24: This post has been updated to clarify the charges.
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