Newly uncovered emails reveal that the Biden administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI formed a close working relationship with the National Abortion Federation (NAF) to investigate and prosecute pro-life activists, including elderly Christians, under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE Act).
The emails, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by the watchdog group Functional Government Initiative (FGI) and shared with The Daily Wire, expose what critics are calling a disturbing collusion between federal law enforcement and pro-abortion lobbying interests.
“These emails reveal undue influence of abortion activists on federal law enforcement investigations,” said FGI spokesperson Roderick Law. “The Biden DOJ’s Civil Rights Division actions appear to violate the civil rights of Americans convicted under the FACE Act.”
A Cozy Relationship Between Activists and Prosecutors
The explosive revelations come from a January 9, 2023, email from Robert Ledogar, the NAF’s Security Manager, addressed to senior DOJ officials, including Kristen Clarke, then-Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights.
“I have witnessed an amazing relationship between the NAF Security Director Michelle Davidson and members of the DOJ Civil Rights Division,” Ledogar wrote, listing multiple federal prosecutors involved in FACE Act cases.
Ledogar added that NAF had been involved in “several” FACE Act investigations in states like Tennessee, Florida, Virginia, California, New York, Maryland, and North Carolina, noting the DOJ’s support had been “nothing short of superb.”
In response, Clarke asked the DOJ’s criminal division if there were any concerns about meeting with Ledogar. Deputy Chief Robert Moossy replied: “CrimeSec has no concerns.”
Pro-Life Activists Imprisoned, FBI Raids Conducted
The Biden DOJ has made aggressive use of the FACE Act, a 1994 law originally designed to protect access to abortion clinics, but also applicable to pro-life crisis pregnancy centers and churches — though prosecutions in that direction have been rare.
Among the high-profile cases:
- Six pro-lifers in Tennessee were convicted and face over 10 years in prison for praying and singing hymns inside a hallway outside an abortion clinic.
- In New York, Catholic priest Fidelis Moscinski and pro-life mother Bevelyn Williams were sentenced to prison under the FACE Act.
- In Tennessee, Paul Vaughn, a father of 11, was raided by armed FBI agents at his home in front of his children.
- Mark Houck, a father of seven, was also subjected to an FBI raid before being acquitted by a jury.
- Paula Paulette Harlow, a 75-year-old grandmother, and Eva Edl, an 89-year-old survivor of a communist concentration camp, were also prosecuted under Biden’s DOJ.
Surveillance at Pro-Life Events
Perhaps most alarming to watchdogs was NAF’s admission that it attended the March for Life, an annual peaceful pro-life rally in Washington, D.C., not to participate — but to monitor and identify so-called “extremists.”
“[NAF] attended events like the March for Life to identify and witness the extremists that find the need to prevent reproductive health care,” Ledogar wrote.
FGI’s Law said this amounted to activist-led surveillance of peaceful American citizens, likely coordinated with federal agencies.
Critics Slam ‘Weaponization’ of Federal Law Enforcement
Former DOJ officials and conservative leaders reacted with outrage at the revelations.
“It sounds like NAF and other abortion activists were trying to remove Lady Justice’s blindfold, and Kristen Clarke and Sanjay Patel were allowing it,” Law said.
Sanjay Patel, mentioned in the emails, headed the DOJ’s “Task Force on Violence Against Reproductive Health Providers.” He, along with Laura Cowall and Paige Fitzgerald, played lead roles in directing FACE Act prosecutions.
Trump DOJ: ‘No Comment on Previous Administration’s Actions’
When contacted for comment, the Trump Department of Justice, now led by Attorney General Pam Bondi, declined to criticize its predecessor directly but emphasized a sharp break in policy.
“Under the leadership of President Trump and Attorney General Bondi, this Department of Justice no longer weaponizes the use of the FACE Act to unfairly target crisis pregnancy centers, pro-life organizations, and churches,” a DOJ spokesman told The Daily Wire.
During his first week back in office, President Trump pardoned nearly two dozen pro-life activists who were prosecuted under Biden, calling the charges ridiculous and politically motivated.
The National Abortion Federation, in turn, condemned the pardons as “disturbing and concerning for the safety of abortion providers.”
FACE Act: A Tool Turned Political?
While the FACE Act was passed to curb clinic violence in the 1990s, critics now say the law is being selectively enforced — overwhelmingly against pro-life Americans. Despite dozens of documented attacks on crisis pregnancy centers and churches in the aftermath of the 2022 Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade, few FACE Act prosecutions have been brought against pro-abortion extremists.
Conclusion: Federal Law Enforcement or Political Enforcer?
These newly released emails paint a troubling picture of a DOJ coordinating with activist groups to investigate and jail political opponents. While the NAF’s influence within federal law enforcement grew, elderly Christians, parents, and clergy found themselves at the mercy of federal prosecution for acts once considered protected speech or peaceful protest.
As questions mount over the integrity and impartiality of the DOJ, watchdogs and lawmakers are calling for immediate oversight hearings, new legislation to reform the FACE Act, and an independent investigation into potential civil rights violations by the Biden administration.
READ NEXT: FBI May Investigate This Shocking Biden Abortion Scandal
