Trump pardons 7 people who blockaded Sterling Heights abortion clinic in 2020
(CBS DETROIT) — Seven people convicted of blockading a Sterling Heights abortion clinic have received presidential pardons from President Trump.
They were among about two dozen people that the Thomas More Society attorneys included in a presidential pardon petition request, a press release from the organization said.
The individuals involved were charged under the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act while Joe Biden was president. As a result of that incident, convictions were issued in August 2024.
Mr. Trump, who started his second term at the White House Monday, issued the pardons on Thursday. This effort is among a flurry of executive orders and official actions that he has taken this week.
The charges in this specific case related to blocking access to a Sterling Heights clinic in 2020 so that patients and employees could not enter. According to a list provided by the society, the following people have now been pardoned: Joel Curry, Eva Edl, Chester Gallagher, Heather Idoni, Justin Phillips, Calvin Zastrow and Eva Zastrow.
Other names that the Thomas More Society submitted on Jan. 14 to the incoming administration on its pardon petition included cases in Nashville, New York and Washington.
"These heroic peaceful pro-lifers were treated shamefully by Biden's DOJ, with many of them branded felons and losing many rights that we take for granted as American citizens," Steve Crampton, Thomas More Society Senior Counsel, said in the press release. "What happened to them can never be erased, but today's pardons are a huge step towards restoring justice."
In addition, Peter Breen, Thomas More Society Executive Vice President and Head of Litigation, also urged Congress to "swiftly" repeal the FACE Act, which became law in 1994.
The Thomas More Society, based in Chicago, is a national public interest law firm.
