The Justice Department has fired at least four prosecutors involved in cases under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act during the Biden administration responsible for putting pro-life Americans in prison.
This is a step the Trump administration described as ending the weaponization of federal law against peaceful pro-life advocates.
The terminations occurred Monday, including longtime federal prosecutor Sanjay Patel of the Civil Rights Division’s criminal section, who had been placed on administrative leave last month. A government official familiar with the firings confirmed the action.
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A Justice Department spokesperson said the department “has terminated the employment of personnel responsible for weaponizing the FACE Act who still remained at the department.”
The Trump administration has maintained that the Biden Justice Department under Attorney General Merrick Garland selectively used the law to target conservative Christians morally opposed to abortion. A draft report being prepared by the department’s “weaponization working group” noted that prosecutions against abortion activists were minimal compared to those targeting pro-life Christians.
Early in his second term, President Donald Trump pardoned 23 pro-life Americans convicted under the FACE Act during the Biden years. Many had faced FBI raids, lengthy federal prosecutions and prison sentences for peaceful demonstrations outside abortion facilities.
The Trump administration also dismissed several other FACE Act cases and directed prosecutors to halt future investigations under the law against pro-life advocates.
The firings come as pro-life advocates continue to highlight what they describe as abusive tactics by the prior administration.
In one high-profile case, pro-life volunteer Mark Houck was arrested at gunpoint in his home by heavily armed federal agents in front of his family after intervening to protect his son from an aggressive abortion escort. A jury acquitted him on all charges in 2023, and Houck later secured a seven-figure settlement against the Justice Department.
Pro-life leaders welcomed the accountability, viewing the prosecutor firings as a step toward restoring justice after years of selective enforcement that ignored attacks on pro-life pregnancy centers and churches while pursuing peaceful pro-life advocates.
