Anti-abortion activists face 10 years in prison following convictions over DC clinic protest

A group of five anti-abortion activists face up to ten years in prison following their Tuesday convictions in relation to a 2020 protest at a Washington, D.C., abortion clinic.

Five members of the Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising (PAAU) group were found guilty of conspiring to prevent others from exercising their rights and violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, the Epoch Times reported. Lauren Handy, Herb Geraghty, John Hinshaw, Heather Idoni, and Will Goodman were among eleven PAAU members who participated in the Oct. 22, 2020, demonstration.

One of the remaining individuals took a plea deal while the other five have yet to face trial.

The FACE Act makes it a crime to use an array of physical means to block someone's access to reproductive services. Lawyers with The Thomas More Society represented the defendants and had argued that they had not blocked entry into the clinic, citing video footage.

In nonviolent instances, FACE Act violations would warrant up to one year in prison. The court, however, determined that the defendants' conduct during the incident constituted violent action, which brings up to ten years in prison as well as the requirement that the group be immediately jailed.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.