Following the arrest of a Catholic pro-life advocate in Pennsylvania last week in front of his wife and kids, 22 members of Congress are requesting an explanation from the Department of Justice.
At his appearance in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Mark Houck, 48, pleaded not guilty to two charges of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, or the FACE Act.
The Department of Justice states that the FACE act “prohibits aggressive, threatening, destructive, and obstructive actions designed to harm, intimidate, or interfere with the right to seek, access, or deliver reproductive health care” (DOJ).
In a statement that accompanied the letter on September 27, Montana Republican Sen. Steve Daines stated, “The FBI’s treatment of pro-life advocate Mark Houck is disturbing.” “Instead of allowing for a local settlement of the conflict, the FBI used disproportionate force during an early-morning raid at gunpoint in front of young children, nationalizing the issue. The people of America deserve explanations.
“An explanation for the excessive level of force used by the FBI in this case, and why the power of federal law enforcement was once again used against an American citizen in what should have been a state and local matter,” the letter demands in response to a request for information made by Sept. 30.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said in the press release that Attorney General Merrick Garland “oversees an increasingly politicized FBI that appears hell-bent on making examples of normal American people who don’t identify ideologically with the administration.”
According on what we now know, the raid on Mark Houck’s residence looks to be one of those cases, Roy continued. “And the FBI should right away account for its apparent deployment of a 25- to 30-person SWAT squad with weapons drawn to target Mark Houck, a pro-life father of seven, for allegedly pushing a man in front of an abortion clinic (although he claims he was protecting his 12-year-old son),” the statement said.
After Houck’s wife publicly disclosed information regarding the tools and strategies the FBI employed to apprehend the pro-life activist and family man, Houck’s arrest received widespread notice.
On the day of the arrest, Ryan-Marie Houck, Houck’s wife, told CNA that “an SWAT squad of approximately 25 arrived to my home with about 15 cars and began knocking on our door.”
If he didn’t open it, they threatened to break in. Then, she said, “they had approximately five guns pointing at my husband, myself, and essentially at my kids.
In a statement released on Monday, the FBI contradicted Ryan-Marie Houck’s version of the arrest, calling the accusations “inaccurate.”
“There were no SWAT personnel or SWAT teams there. Mr. Houck received a knock on his front door by FBI officers who introduced themselves and requested him to leave the house. According to an indictment, he did this and was swiftly put into jail, according to the statement.
“Any federal warrant that is served is the result of extensive planning. The FBI then makes use of the personnel and strategies deemed necessary to carry out a secure arrest or search, according to the statement.
The tactics used by FBI personnel were professional, in line with standard practices, and intended to ensure the safety of everyone in and outside the residence, the statement said. “While it’s the FBI’s standard practice to not discuss such operational specifics, we can say that the number of personnel and vehicles widely reported as being on scene Friday is an overstatement.
An FBI official failed to respond to CNA’s inquiries about the number of law enforcement officers there and if any of them brandished their firearms at the family.
The expenses
After a Planned Parenthood clinic escort claimed that Houck shoved him twice, forcing him to fall to the ground each times, Houck was indicted by a federal grand jury on September 22.
The 72-year-old man, named in the federal indictment by the initials B.L., was at a Planned Parenthood facility in Philadelphia on October 13, 2021, according to the federal indictment, which claims that Houck attacked him twice.
The guy was trying to transport two patients when Houck allegedly slammed him to the ground. Additionally, the indictment claims that the same day in front of Planned Parenthood, Houck “verbally accosted” him and “forcefully slammed” him to the ground. According to the accusation, the individual was hurt and required medical assistance.
According to his wife, who spoke to CNA the day of the arrest, Houck often prays the rosary, distributes literature, and “does some sidewalk counseling” outside the clinic.
Mark Houck contends that he shoved the clinic escort in an attempt to shield his then 12-year-old son from the man’s verbal abuse, according to Brian Middleton, who served as the Houck family’s spokesman.
Middleton said that while the guy fell, he was unharmed and just needed “a Band-Aid on his finger.”
If Houck is found guilty of the additional federal accusations, he could spend 11 years in jail.
The dismissed state charges were discussed in the congressional letter.
The congressional letter notes that there is still much to discover about the scope of the FBI’s involvement in this case, particularly in light of the fact that local Philadelphia officials seem to have dropped the state-level assault charges.
The FBI must have a compelling cause for visiting an American family’s house, where a father was detained in front of his seven children, according to reports. Allegedly there were around 25 highly armed federal officials. It now looks to be an extreme political overreach.