(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) Senator Josh Hawley, R-Mo., has demanded answers from Attorney General Merrick Garland concerning the arrest of pro-life activist and father of seven Mark Houck.
According to Houck’s family, 15 vehicles with an estimated 20 FBI agents raided their house over an incident last year where Houck had to protect his then 12-year-old son from an aggressive Planned Parenthood escort outside of an abortion clinic.
Houck and his family run a nonprofit group that provides sidewalk counseling at abortion clinics in the city of Philadelphia.
The case was originally dismissed by a federal court when the escort attempted to press charges, according to the Daily Wire.
“If the shocking reports about the FBI arresting a man Friday in rural Pennsylvania are true, then you have a lot to answer for,” Hawley said in a letter to Garland. “These reports state that federal authorities obtained a warrant under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act to arrest Mark Houck for allegedly committing a single count of simple assault by pushing a man near an abortion clinic.”
“Houck contends that he only did so to defend his child against the man, and local authorities have already dismissed a separate criminal complaint against Houck for the conduct,” he said.
By arresting Houck, the FBI turned a local dispute into a federal case, and, according to Houck’s family, the arrest seemed about as extreme as they could have made it.
“As Houck’s wife said, when they saw 20 or more agents arrest their father at gunpoint, ‘the kids were all just screaming,’” Hawley said. “To say the least, using this kind of force to make an arrest for a single charge of simple assault is unprecedented.”
Hawley also mentioned that the DOJ seems to be taking its time investigating the coordinated attacks on pro-life pregnancy centers and churches by abortion extremists.
“I want to know from Merrick Garland directly why Biden’s DOJ is arresting Catholic protestors like terrorists – complete with SWAT-style tactics – while letting actual terrorist acts like firebombings go unpunished,” he said.
“Come January, the new Republican Congress must launch a thorough, public investigation of DOJ & the FBI – from their targeting of parents to religious protestors to political opponents,” he continued.
The senator demanded answers as to why Houck was arrested and why it took 20-25 armed agents to execute an arrest for a dismissed assault charge “within 10 days.”
“I believe you must testify, under oath, before the Senate Judiciary Committee about your selective use and apparent political weaponization of the FACE Act,” Hawley wrote to Garland.
I want to know from Merrick Garland directly why Biden’s DOJ is arresting Catholic protestors like terrorists – complete with SWAT-style tactics – while letting actual terrorist acts like firebombings go unpunished pic.twitter.com/tU1Jwe4c7h
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) September 26, 2022
