President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a memorandum Friday pledging to end the “weaponization” of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act and dismissing three ongoing FACE Act cases. 

The FACE Act is a 1994 law that prohibits “violent, threatening, damaging, and obstructive conduct intended to injure, intimidate, or interfere with the right to seek, obtain, or provide reproductive health services.” The act was written to equally protect abortion clinics, pro-life pregnancy resource centers, and churches; however, 97 percent of FACE Act cases since the law’s inception have been against pro-life advocates.

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The Biden administration used the law to aggressively prosecute, and sometimes imprison, pro-life activists. Data obtained by Rep. Chip Roy’s (R-TX) office found that, in less than four years, Biden’s DOJ accounted for more than a quarter of all 211 FACE prosecutions since the law’s inception. At least 55 FACE Act cases were prosecuted during the Biden administration, only a handful of which were against pro-abortion attacks on pregnancy centers, despite the increase in attacks against pro-life pregnancy centers and churches following the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision.

“President Trump campaigned on the promise of ending the weaponization of the federal government and has recently directed all federal departments and agencies to identify and correct the past weaponization of law enforcement. To many Americans, prosecutions and civil actions under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (“FACE Act”) have been the prototypical example of this weaponization. And for good reason,” the DOJ memo reads. 

“Even though more than 100 crisis pregnancy centers, pro-life organizations, and churches were attacked in the immediate aftermath of the Dobbs decision, nearly all prosecutions under the FACE Act have been against pro-life protesters. That is not the even-handed administration of justice,” the memo continues. 

The DOJ said that, going forward, federal law enforcement and prosecutorial resources will only be “devoted to the most serious violations of federal law ” and that “future abortion-related FACE Act prosecutions and civil actions will be permitted only in extraordinary circumstances, or in cases presenting significant aggravating factors, such as death, serious bodily harm, or serious property damage.”

“Cases not presenting significant aggravating factors can adequately be addressed under state or local law. Additionally, until further notice, no new abortion-related FACE Act actions — criminal or civil — will be permitted without authorization from the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division,” the memo reads. 

In light of those changes, the DOJ ordered the dismissal of three FACE Act cases: U.S. v. Connolly, U.S. v. Zastrow, and U.S. v. Citizens for a Pro-Life Society.

“If needed, further case-specific guidance will follow for cases in which a criminal conviction has already been obtained but in which a sentenced has not yet been imposed, or in which the appeals are not yet completed, that did not present significant aggravating factors,” the memo concludes. 

The DOJ memo was sent just one day after Trump pardoned nearly two dozen pro-life activists targeted by the Biden administration. In several cases, Biden’s DOJ added a KKK-era “conspiracy against rights” charge to bolster potential sentencing time, and for a few cases, the FBI allegedly conducted early morning raids against pro-life advocates, even allegedly holding them at gunpoint in front of their families. Some of the activists targeted by the Biden DOJ include an 89-year-old survivor of a communist concentration camp, several grandmothers, and a Christian father of 11.

Thomas More Society, which submitted pardon petitions for 21 of the 23 activists pardoned, celebrated the DOJ’s FACE Act actions and said “these cases should have never been brought…”

“Thomas More Society welcomes the news that the Department of Justice has been directed to dismiss with prejudice three remaining FACE Act cases brought against our peaceful pro-life clients. In all three of these cases, our attorneys have led the defense of pro-life advocates targeted by Biden’s DOJ—which had sought crushing penalties, fines, and injunctions against them, to stop them from sharing their pro-life message,” Thomas More Society Executive Vice President and Head of Litigation Peter Breen said in a statement. 

“These cases should have never been brought and we are thankful to the Trump administration for righting that wrong. While this handful of cases are now slated for dismissal, there is no shortage of ongoing attacks on life-affirming ministries across the country, as pro-abortion states double down on anti-life policies and lawfare,” he continued. “As these legal battles multiply in pro-abortion states, we will tirelessly continue to defend the entire pro-life movement.” 

RELATED: Federal Judge Pauses FACE Act Case Against Pro-Lifers Until Trump’s White House Return

Some Republicans are looking to do away with the FACE Act altogether. Rep. Roy and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) reintroduced a bill last week that would repeal the FACE Act, which they contend is an “unconstitutional federal takeover of state police powers”:

“These Americans are peaceful, pro-life Americans who were singled out and targeted by their government solely because of their beliefs. This is a tremendous step towards righting the wrongs done under Biden, but Congress must also take the step to repeal the FACE Act to ensure it can never again be weaponized by a future administration,” Roy said.

“That’s why last Congress, I introduced legislation to repeal it with my friend, Sen. Mike Lee. [Ninety-seven percent] of FACE Act prosecutions between the years of 1994-2024 were initiated against pro-life Americans; it is laughable to argue that the law hasn’t been weaponized. Let’s put H.R. 589 on the President’s desk and end this once and for all,” he added.

Pam Bondi, Trump’s attorney general nominee, pledged during her confirmation hearing to equally enforce the FACE Act.

Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.



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