A jury on August 29th found five pro-life activists guilty of violating the Freedom of
Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act and conspiracy against rights. They were immediately incarcerated following the verdict and could face more than a decade in prison for their efforts to prevent women from killing their preborn babies. (Image: Pixabay)
In a statement to LifeSiteNews at the courthouse on Tuesday, defendant William Goodman urged his supporters “to forgive the jury, the judge, and all those who witnessed against us, and to pray that they would see how God loves the gift of every human life.”
All the defendants were led away and Goodman was handcuffed after the judge determined that the rescuers must be immediately detained pending sentencing since the nature of the FACE Act violation amounted to a “crime of violence.”
Just ahead of the judge’s decision, defendant Heather Idoni told LifeSiteNews that the determination of whether or not she and other defendants would be immediately incarcerated was all up “to the Lord and His ministry.”
In an emailed statement Tuesday, Steve Crampton, senior counsel with the conservative Thomas More Society law firm, called the immediate incarceration due to the alleged “violence” of the crime “an outrage” since “the one thing the defendants had really agreed upon was to remain non-violent.”
“The real violence is what happens during the abortion procedure,” he said.
As LifeSiteNews has extensively reported, five anti-abortion activists – Goodman, Idoni, Lauren Handy, John Hinshaw, and Herb Geraghty – have stood trial over the past week for blocking access to the Washington Surgi-Clinic in downtown Washington, DC, in a “traditional rescue” in October 2020. Pro-life “rescues” involve activists physically intervening to try to stop women from going through with abortions…
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