FBI raids home of pro-life leader on questionable charges

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 23, 2022 / 17:56 pm

A Catholic speaker and author who regularly prays the rosary outside an abortion clinic in Philadelphia was arrested by at least 20 SWAT team members on Friday for an alleged physical assault of a Planned Parenthood clinic escort last year.

Mark Houck, 48, of Kintnersville, Pennsylvania, who disputes the allegations, is the co-founder and president of the Catholic ministry The King’s Men, which aims to give spiritual formation to Catholic men. 

News of Houck’s arrest on Friday morning was widely shared on social media after well-known Catholic speaker Chris Stefanick posted about it online. Houck’s wife, Ryan-Marie Houck, told CNA about the arrest Friday.

“A SWAT team of about 25 came to my house with about 15 vehicles and started pounding on our door,” Ryan-Marie Houck said. “They said they were going to break in if he didn’t open it. And then they had about five guns pointed at my husband, myself, and basically at my kids,” she added.

She said that multiple agencies were present at the arrest and that she was handed a warrant after she requested to see it.

Stefanick called the arrest “government sponsored bullying & intimidation.”

The FBI confirmed to CNA Friday that Houck was arrested outside his residence Friday morning “without incident.” In a press release, the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania said that Houck is being charged with a violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, more commonly referred to as the FACE Act.

The federal indictment says that Houck twice assaulted a 72-year-old man who was a patient escort at a Planned Parenthood clinic at 1144 Locust St. in Philadelphia on Oct. 13, 2021.

According to the indictment, Houck shoved the escort, identified only with the initials B.L., to the ground as B.L was attempting to escort two patients. Houck also “verbally confronted” and “forcefully shoved” B.L. to the ground in front of Planned Parenthood the same day, the indictment says. The indictment says that B.L. was injured and needed medical attention.

Brian Middleton, the Houck family spokesman, maintains the injury was minor, only requiring “a Band-Aid on his finger.”

According to Father James Hutchins, who serves as the chaplain of Houck’s organization, the case against Houck may have been deliberately exaggerated.

A statement from Joe and Ashley Garecht on a recently created fundraising page for Houck described a very different scenario — one of defense of Houck’s child.

“Last year, Mark and his son were praying in front of the PP at 12th and Locust. When one of the escorts began harassing Mark’s son they walked down the street away from the entrance to the building. The escort followed them, and when he continued yelling at Mark’s son, Mark pushed him away,” the couple said, noting that the incident is on video.

According to the Garechts, “that hasn’t stopped Planned Parenthood and the Biden administration. With no prior warning, and in spite of the fact that Mark is represented by an attorney, Biden’s Justice Department sent a fully armed SWAT team into a home full of young children at daybreak to arrest a father for protecting his son.”

If he is convicted, Houck could face up to 11 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $350,000, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. 

The FACE Act “prohibits violent, threatening, damaging, and obstructive conduct intended to injure, intimidate, or interfere with the right to seek, obtain or provide reproductive health services,” according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). 

Violating the FACE Act is a federal crime and protects “all patients, providers, and facilities that provide reproductive health services, including pro-life pregnancy counseling services and any other pregnancy support facility providing reproductive health care,” according to the DOJ.

Ryan-Marie Houck told CNA that her husband prays the rosary outside one of two different Planned Parenthoods every Wednesday and hands out literature to anyone who wants it. She said that praying outside the clinic is part of The King’s Men ministry. 

“This was a gross over-reach from the ‘justice’ department with excessive use of force and trumped up allegations and our story needs to be told truthfully,” Ryan-Marie Houck said in a text. “These are false allegations.”

She said that he had his first appearance before a judge and was subsequently released on Friday. As of Sunday night, an online fund drive had raised more than $126,000 to help the family with legal costs.

“Planned Parenthood and its pro-abortion allies want to send a message of fear to the pro-life community of Pennsylvania,” said the fundraising page.

“But we have a different message to share: We will not back down, we will not stop fighting to protect the lives of Pennsylvania’s unborn children, and we WILL NOT TOLERATE the harassment of our leaders by a corrupt and politicized justice system.”

This story was updated on Sept. 25, 2022, with new facts provided by several sources.