In August 2021, nurse Phebe Brandt witnessed a tense situation unfold at a Planned Parenthood facility when an anti-abortion activist, Matthew Connolly, barricaded himself in a bathroom. With evacuation ordered, employees and patients faced uncertainty regarding Connolly's intentions. After police intervention, he was removed, leading to a shutdown of the clinic. Federal prosecutors filed a lawsuit against Connolly under the FACE Act to protect reproductive health services. This reflects a shift in the Biden administration's commitment to protecting such clinics, in contrast to the previous administration's approach to law enforcement against protesters.
At that very moment, we really didn't know what was going on. We didn't know if he was armed. We didn't know if he had a bomb on him.
The federal government's civil case sought to impose financial penalties on Connolly and deter future disruptive actions by him at abortion clinics.
The Justice Department's new leaders say past enforcement of the FACE Act is the prototypical example of what they say is the weaponization of law enforcement against conservatives.
Instead, the Justice Department now says it will no longer enforce violations of the statute, except in extraordinary circumstances.
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