Trump pardons ‘peaceful’ anti-abortion protestors who barricaded door and injured nurse

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Donald Trump signed pardons for 23 anti-abortion activists who were convicted for violating a federal law that makes it a crime to block entrances to reproductive health clinics. “They should not have been prosecuted … Ridiculous.” Steve Crampton, senior counsel with the anti-abortion advocacy group Thomas More Society, called the pardons a “huge step towards restoring justice.” The pardons were issued one day before thousands of anti-abortion activists gather in Washington for the annual March for Life event, which marks the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark 1973 decision in Roe v Wade, which affirmed a constitutional right to abortion care. open image in gallery Lauren Handy is among 23 anti-abortion activists who received presidential pardons on January 23 after they were convicted for violating federal law that makes it a crime to block access to reproductive health clinics Prosecutions in the Washington case marked the first time that the Department of Justice charged anti-abortion activists under the FACE Act, which was enacted in the early 1990s in response to a wave of violent threats towards reproductive healthcare providers and patients. This week, House Republican Chip Roy filed legislation to revoke the law, which he claims has been “weaponized against pro-life Americans” for “for speaking out and standing up for life.” But the FACE Act has also been used to prosecute abortion rights demonstrators — as recently as last year — who have targeted so-called crisis pregnancy centers.