CNA Staff, Jul 26, 2024 / 14:45 pm
Four Florida activists from the abortion rights extremist group “Jane’s Revenge” agreed on July 25 to pay restitution and keep away from crisis pregnancy centers following vandalism and threats of violence on three pro-life clinics.
“We will not allow radicals to threaten and intimidate women seeking help from crisis pregnancy centers or the counselors and health care professionals serving these women and their babies,” Attorney General Ashley Moody said in a statement. “In Florida, illegal actions have consequences, and I am proud of the work our attorneys did in this case to make sure these extremists were held accountable.”
Moody and First Liberty Institute, a legal nonprofit, filed civil lawsuits authorized under the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act on behalf of several life-affirming pregnancy clinics in Florida.
Three of the four activists pleaded guilty last month to criminal charges. The four of them are enjoined from going within 100 feet of the life-affirming clinics they targeted: the South Broward Pregnancy Help Center and the Life Choice Pregnancy Center as well as any of the five facilities owned by Heartbeat of Miami.
Caleb Freestone, Amber Marie Smith-Stewart, and Annarella Rivera will issue apologies for the 2022 acts of vandalism and together will pay $6,750 for the vandalism. Charges against the fourth defendant are pending.
The activists were associated with “Jane’s Revenge,” a militant pro-abortion group that targets pregnancy help centers and takes responsibility for arson, firebombing, and vandalism against the organizations. The group emerged after the leak of the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in May 2022.
At Heartbeat of Miami, the vandalism resulted in thousands of dollars in damages, with graffitied messages such as “Jane’s Revenge” and “If abortions aren’t safe, then neither are you” sprayed on the walls.
Heartbeat provides free pregnancy tests; sonograms; pregnancy consultation and education, support, and referrals; and parenting preparation, according to its website. The center has a baby boutique that provides material supplies for women and has an abortion pill reversal contact center and post-abortion counseling.
“The entry of these felony plea agreements serves as a reminder that no one should suffer violence for simply providing faith-based counseling and baby supplies to women and their babies,” First Liberty Senior Counsel Jeremy Dys said. “Attorney General Moody’s leadership, together with our lawsuit, sends a clear message: Those who target life-affirming reproductive health facilities with violence will face the legal penalties Congress established for their crimes.”
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The FACE Act has frequently been used in defense of abortion. Numerous pro-life activists have recently been convicted under the statute, including a young mother who was recently sentenced to more than three years in prison for blocking the entrance to a New York facility. Other pro-life activists are facing up to 10 years in prison for blocking the entrance to an abortion clinic in Washington, D.C., in 2020, including several elderly activists who are facing prison time.
