In a non-jury trial, U.S. Federal Judge Joe Anderson found pro-life activist Steven Lefemine guilty of violating the Freedom of Access of Clinic Entrances Act (FACE ACT).
In 2022, Lefemine stood outside a South Carolina abortion clinic singing “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty” and quoting Bible verses.
When approached by abortion clinic employees and police officers, Lefemine said he would leave if “they agree not to kill babies today.”
Lefemine now faces up to six months in federal prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
The case is the first conviction of the FACE ACT in South Carolina, according to a press release from the Department of Justice (DOJ).
“We will protect South Carolinians’ right to peacefully protest, but we will also protect their right to access healthcare facilities,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina Adair F. Boroughs. “Lefemine’s protest became unlawful when he physically prevented patients from entering Planned Parenthood.”
Last year, pro-life activist and Catholic father Mark Houck and his wife announced a lawsuit against the Department of Justice (DOJ) after Houck was arrested last year by an estimated 20 Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents.
Houck allegedly violated the FACE Act, although he was later acquitted.
The pro-life activist sought $1.1 million for “malicious prosecution, retaliatory prosecution, false arrest, abuse of process, and assault,” according to The Daily Signal.
“This lawsuit will send a strong message to the DOJ that the United States of America does not belong to [Attorney General] Merrick Garland or the FBI; it belongs to all Americans, despite our many disagreements on different issues,” said president of the pro-life organization 40 Days for Life Shawn Carney. “We all believe that we should have the right to free speech and be protected from unlawful infringement by our own government.”
