Former President Donald Trump has said the Biden administration is targeting pro-life activists—following a recent spate of FBI arrests.
During a Saturday night rally in Nevada, Trump said President Joe Biden and federal officials are “turning America into a police state” after several arrests of high-profile pro-life activities.
“Before our very eyes, Biden and his left-wing handlers are turning America into a police state,” said Trump, who then accused the White House of ignoring vandalism and arson attacks against pregnancy centers and pro-life organizations following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade earlier this year.
“Look at what’s going on. After ignoring violent attacks on pro-life clinics, the Biden administration is rounding up pro-life activists all over the country,” Trump explained. “First, they arrested the minister that you all read about, then this week they arrested grandparents with guns drawn, many agents storming into their little houses, putting them in jail.”
Last month, the bureau arrested pro-life activist Mark Houck in Pennsylvania. His wife, Ryan-Marie, alleged that dozens of FBI agents had their guns drawn while their children were inside screaming. The FBI told The Epoch Times that many reported details about Houck’s arrest were inaccurate.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) charged 11 pro-life advocates with federal charges related to a 2021 protest at an abortion clinic in Tennessee. Some of the defendants could get 11 years in prison, according to the DOJ.
“These people went out and beautifully, silently protested, and they’re in jail now,” Trump said in reference to those who were arrested several days ago. “They were protesting outside of abortion clinics and [the government] are charging them with crimes punishable with up to 11 years in prison. In many cases, they’re grandparents and elderly people.”
Trump stated that during the upcoming midterm elections, “we don’t have the luxury of waiting. The only way evil will triumph is for good men and women to do nothing.”
The DOJ said the 11 individuals violated the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act during the 2021 protest in Tennessee.
“His coconspirators and others blocked the clinic’s entry doors and prevented a patient and an employee from entering,” said the DOJ in a news release last week about their arrests. “The 11 individuals, aided and abetted by one another, used force and physical obstruction to injure, intimidate and interfere with employees of the clinic and a patient who was seeking reproductive health services.”
The Epoch Times has contacted the DOJ for comment.
