Anti-abortion activists who received pardons plan their future actions
Trump's FBI and DOJ terminated multiple ongoing investigations related to threats made against abortion clinics and released a new memo indicating a decrease in enforcement of such acts moving forward.
TroibNews 
Many of the nearly two dozen individuals pardoned by President Donald Trump in January, known for breaking into and blocking access to abortion clinics, are pledging to initiate a new wave of civil disobedience.
During a recent online event hosted by the anti-abortion organization LiveAction, several activists released from federal prison announced plans to renew their efforts to shut down remaining clinics across the country. They called on fellow abortion opponents to join their cause.
“Get out there, whether it's outside the clinic or inside, or wherever you need to be to actually prevent unborn children's lives from being taken,” said Herb Geraghty, an anti-abortion activist from Pittsburgh who disrupted a Washington abortion clinic in 2020 to implore patients to reconsider their choices.
Following the pardons, Trump’s FBI and DOJ halted several ongoing investigations into threats made against abortion clinics and issued a new memo indicating a shift toward reduced enforcement of such activities. These changes, alongside a renewed Congressional push to repeal the law that Geraghty and others violated, suggest that clinics will once again become a central focus in the debate over abortion access, especially under a president who has claimed to be “the most pro-life” in history.
Geraghty, who served 17 months of a 27-month sentence before receiving a pardon he originally tried to reject, stated to PMG that despite his “traumatizing” prison experience, he views his incarceration as justified and is “committed to nonviolent direct action in service of the pro-life cause.” He added, “There's actual lives being saved every minute you are committing the crime,” referencing the activists’ unauthorized entrance into abortion clinics. “Every minute that a rescuer is inside the building, they are not killing babies.”
Others pardoned by Trump expressed intentions to enter abortion clinics either forcefully or stealthily to “rescue” fetuses. They welcomed the new Justice Department guidance that discourages penalizing such actions unless under “extraordinary circumstances” that involve “significant aggravating factors, such as death, serious bodily harm, or serious property damage,” and are demanding similar leniency from state and local law enforcement.
“Get out of our way and let citizens defend children in a way that maybe you aren't willing to do,” Jonathan Darnel, sentenced to 34 months in prison for “use of force and physical obstruction” at a Washington abortion clinic in 2020, expressed during the event. “If you're a Christian police officer, a pro-life police officer, you need to commit in your heart not to arrest rescuers that are defending children, leave them be, even if it costs you your job. If you're not willing to protect the children yourself, let us do it.”
Beyond the pardons of Darnel, Geraghty, and others, the Trump administration also moved to dismiss with prejudice charges against anti-abortion protesters in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Tennessee who had blocked access to clinics. One individual had barricaded himself in the bathroom of a Philadelphia Planned Parenthood for over three hours, leading to the evacuation of staff and patients and the rescheduling of nearly 50 appointments. Another group had posed as patients to disrupt activities at a northeast Ohio clinic, where they “forcefully grabbed a patient’s body and told her not to go through with the abortion,” according to federal court documents.
The FBI has also informed some clinics that it is discontinuing federal investigations into threats against them. Calla Halle, executive director of A Preferred Women's Health Center, which operates clinics in Georgia and North Carolina, reported receiving a call that the agency would transfer its investigation of a bomb threat at one of her clinics to state authorities. The FBI declined to comment on the situation, and state authorities have not yet made contact.
Halle expressed concern that the pardons and new DOJ policies could “catalyze” more protesting and aggressive actions. “Protesters seem to know that they're not going to be held accountable,” she said, noting “a lot more boundary-pushing” in recent weeks. Since the pardons, some anti-abortion activists have been cited multiple times for trespassing at her Charlotte clinic, and one protester posed as a patient to access the clinic and tried to enter its administrative office.
“The lying, the harassment, the intimidation, it's definitely amping up,” Halle remarked. “There's less of a deterrent for protesters” when compared to the FACE Act charges that could carry federal prison time.
While abortion procedures have increasingly shifted away from traditional clinics, with many occurring at home using medication, the National Abortion Federation, a pro-abortion rights organization, has observed a significant rise in violence against clinics, staff, and patients since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. From 2021 to 2022, the group reported a staggering 538 percent increase in obstructions of clinic entrances, a 913 percent rise in stalking of clinic staff, and a 144 percent uptick in bomb threats.
NAF Chief Program Officer Melissa Fowler noted that it is too early to ascertain the impact of the pardons and enforcement changes on incidents but mentioned a surge in requests for on-site security assessments and training from clinics. “The pardons are disturbing and infuriating, and they do invite anti-abortion extremists to step up their attacks on providers,” she said. “It really sends a message that you can break certain laws without penalty.”
Some individuals pardoned still face state charges for unauthorized entry into abortion clinics, which could result in lighter sentences compared to federal charges—30 days instead of several years in prison.
Clinics in New York City and Washington, where some of the pardoned individuals were arrested in recent years, have reported increased incidents this year. Two days after the pardons were announced, volunteers at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Washington described an incident with a particularly aggressive anti-abortion protester who walked close to the clinic’s door in a manner perceived as threatening by both staff and patients.
Monica Migliorino Miller, director of the anti-abortion organization Citizens for a Pro-Life Society, who has also served time for clinic protests, anticipates a “minor revival” in activist actions targeting clinics, but does not foresee a return to the movement's peak years in the late 20th century. “Without the threat of the FACE Act, and instead going back to maybe getting penalties like a city citation or a state misdemeanor, there will probably be some increase in rescues in defense of the unborn,” she indicated.
Miller noted that the anti-abortion movement may require time to adapt and rebuild its clinic-focused wing after decades of operating under the 1994 law. Since the FACE Act remains enforceable without a statute of limitations, fears of potential prosecution by future administrations could deter many activists.
Paul Vaughn, who was convicted for blocking access to a Tennessee clinic in 2021 and later pardoned by Trump, expressed optimism, telling fellow abortion opponents during the LiveAction event that the felony charges from the Biden administration “backfired” and “emboldened us.” “They wanted to spread fear into the church and people that would dare stand up for the unborn,” he said. “And yet, God had other plans.”
Lauren Handy, another activist charged under the FACE Act, emphasized that they would have been prohibited from being within 1,000 feet of an abortion clinic upon their release. The pardons have lifted that restriction. “Being able to have freedom of movement, being able to go back and advocate and rescue, and do whatever I need to do that the lord is calling me to — that’s what I’m very thankful for,” she stated.
Jason Storms, leader of the anti-abortion organization Operation Save America, shared plans to host a conference in South Carolina next month aimed at training the next generation of clinic protesters and discussing the movement's tactics. He noted a collective agreement among conservatives that abortion “needs to be opposed, even to the point of risking arrest or severe persecution,” with many considering sit-ins and other “acts of interposition” as effective methods.
Some of those pardoned are former members of Operation Save America’s leadership or close allies, and Storms confirmed that they have conveyed a sense of “enthusiasm” about what they can achieve with Trump in office. “Some see our tactics as aggressive,” he said in an interview. “We don't believe they are, of course, not anywhere near as aggressive as what is going on inside of the abortion clinic, where little bodies are being torn to pieces.”
Lucas Dupont for TROIB News
During a recent online event hosted by the anti-abortion organization LiveAction, several activists released from federal prison announced plans to renew their efforts to shut down remaining clinics across the country. They called on fellow abortion opponents to join their cause.
“Get out there, whether it's outside the clinic or inside, or wherever you need to be to actually prevent unborn children's lives from being taken,” said Herb Geraghty, an anti-abortion activist from Pittsburgh who disrupted a Washington abortion clinic in 2020 to implore patients to reconsider their choices.
Following the pardons, Trump’s FBI and DOJ halted several ongoing investigations into threats made against abortion clinics and issued a new memo indicating a shift toward reduced enforcement of such activities. These changes, alongside a renewed Congressional push to repeal the law that Geraghty and others violated, suggest that clinics will once again become a central focus in the debate over abortion access, especially under a president who has claimed to be “the most pro-life” in history.
Geraghty, who served 17 months of a 27-month sentence before receiving a pardon he originally tried to reject, stated to PMG that despite his “traumatizing” prison experience, he views his incarceration as justified and is “committed to nonviolent direct action in service of the pro-life cause.” He added, “There's actual lives being saved every minute you are committing the crime,” referencing the activists’ unauthorized entrance into abortion clinics. “Every minute that a rescuer is inside the building, they are not killing babies.”
Others pardoned by Trump expressed intentions to enter abortion clinics either forcefully or stealthily to “rescue” fetuses. They welcomed the new Justice Department guidance that discourages penalizing such actions unless under “extraordinary circumstances” that involve “significant aggravating factors, such as death, serious bodily harm, or serious property damage,” and are demanding similar leniency from state and local law enforcement.
“Get out of our way and let citizens defend children in a way that maybe you aren't willing to do,” Jonathan Darnel, sentenced to 34 months in prison for “use of force and physical obstruction” at a Washington abortion clinic in 2020, expressed during the event. “If you're a Christian police officer, a pro-life police officer, you need to commit in your heart not to arrest rescuers that are defending children, leave them be, even if it costs you your job. If you're not willing to protect the children yourself, let us do it.”
Beyond the pardons of Darnel, Geraghty, and others, the Trump administration also moved to dismiss with prejudice charges against anti-abortion protesters in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Tennessee who had blocked access to clinics. One individual had barricaded himself in the bathroom of a Philadelphia Planned Parenthood for over three hours, leading to the evacuation of staff and patients and the rescheduling of nearly 50 appointments. Another group had posed as patients to disrupt activities at a northeast Ohio clinic, where they “forcefully grabbed a patient’s body and told her not to go through with the abortion,” according to federal court documents.
The FBI has also informed some clinics that it is discontinuing federal investigations into threats against them. Calla Halle, executive director of A Preferred Women's Health Center, which operates clinics in Georgia and North Carolina, reported receiving a call that the agency would transfer its investigation of a bomb threat at one of her clinics to state authorities. The FBI declined to comment on the situation, and state authorities have not yet made contact.
Halle expressed concern that the pardons and new DOJ policies could “catalyze” more protesting and aggressive actions. “Protesters seem to know that they're not going to be held accountable,” she said, noting “a lot more boundary-pushing” in recent weeks. Since the pardons, some anti-abortion activists have been cited multiple times for trespassing at her Charlotte clinic, and one protester posed as a patient to access the clinic and tried to enter its administrative office.
“The lying, the harassment, the intimidation, it's definitely amping up,” Halle remarked. “There's less of a deterrent for protesters” when compared to the FACE Act charges that could carry federal prison time.
While abortion procedures have increasingly shifted away from traditional clinics, with many occurring at home using medication, the National Abortion Federation, a pro-abortion rights organization, has observed a significant rise in violence against clinics, staff, and patients since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. From 2021 to 2022, the group reported a staggering 538 percent increase in obstructions of clinic entrances, a 913 percent rise in stalking of clinic staff, and a 144 percent uptick in bomb threats.
NAF Chief Program Officer Melissa Fowler noted that it is too early to ascertain the impact of the pardons and enforcement changes on incidents but mentioned a surge in requests for on-site security assessments and training from clinics. “The pardons are disturbing and infuriating, and they do invite anti-abortion extremists to step up their attacks on providers,” she said. “It really sends a message that you can break certain laws without penalty.”
Some individuals pardoned still face state charges for unauthorized entry into abortion clinics, which could result in lighter sentences compared to federal charges—30 days instead of several years in prison.
Clinics in New York City and Washington, where some of the pardoned individuals were arrested in recent years, have reported increased incidents this year. Two days after the pardons were announced, volunteers at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Washington described an incident with a particularly aggressive anti-abortion protester who walked close to the clinic’s door in a manner perceived as threatening by both staff and patients.
Monica Migliorino Miller, director of the anti-abortion organization Citizens for a Pro-Life Society, who has also served time for clinic protests, anticipates a “minor revival” in activist actions targeting clinics, but does not foresee a return to the movement's peak years in the late 20th century. “Without the threat of the FACE Act, and instead going back to maybe getting penalties like a city citation or a state misdemeanor, there will probably be some increase in rescues in defense of the unborn,” she indicated.
Miller noted that the anti-abortion movement may require time to adapt and rebuild its clinic-focused wing after decades of operating under the 1994 law. Since the FACE Act remains enforceable without a statute of limitations, fears of potential prosecution by future administrations could deter many activists.
Paul Vaughn, who was convicted for blocking access to a Tennessee clinic in 2021 and later pardoned by Trump, expressed optimism, telling fellow abortion opponents during the LiveAction event that the felony charges from the Biden administration “backfired” and “emboldened us.” “They wanted to spread fear into the church and people that would dare stand up for the unborn,” he said. “And yet, God had other plans.”
Lauren Handy, another activist charged under the FACE Act, emphasized that they would have been prohibited from being within 1,000 feet of an abortion clinic upon their release. The pardons have lifted that restriction. “Being able to have freedom of movement, being able to go back and advocate and rescue, and do whatever I need to do that the lord is calling me to — that’s what I’m very thankful for,” she stated.
Jason Storms, leader of the anti-abortion organization Operation Save America, shared plans to host a conference in South Carolina next month aimed at training the next generation of clinic protesters and discussing the movement's tactics. He noted a collective agreement among conservatives that abortion “needs to be opposed, even to the point of risking arrest or severe persecution,” with many considering sit-ins and other “acts of interposition” as effective methods.
Some of those pardoned are former members of Operation Save America’s leadership or close allies, and Storms confirmed that they have conveyed a sense of “enthusiasm” about what they can achieve with Trump in office. “Some see our tactics as aggressive,” he said in an interview. “We don't believe they are, of course, not anywhere near as aggressive as what is going on inside of the abortion clinic, where little bodies are being torn to pieces.”
Lucas Dupont for TROIB News
