Sat Jan 25 12:40:00 UTC 2025: **Trump Pardons 23 Pro-Life Activists, Including Elderly Woman Imprisoned for Clinic Blockade**
WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Donald Trump pardoned 23 pro-life activists Thursday, including 76-year-old Joan Bell, who was serving over two years for her involvement in a 2020 blockade of a Washington, D.C. abortion clinic. Bell, a grandmother, expressed overwhelming relief upon learning of the pardon, stating she was initially in disbelief before celebrating with fellow inmates. She was released later that evening and plans a second honeymoon with her husband.
The activists were convicted under the 1994 FACE Act for allegedly using force to prevent access to abortion services. They were sentenced by a Clinton-appointed judge and immediately incarcerated. The Thomas More Society, representing many of the activists, had formally requested pardons from the Trump administration earlier this month, arguing the prosecutions were unjust and politically motivated. The group cited difficulties finding unbiased juries in what they called the “most pro-abortion city in America.”
Bell specifically criticized the judge for allowing what she called “pro-death words” while silencing pro-life statements during the trial, highlighting the emotional toll of being prosecuted for her religious beliefs. The pardons come a day before the annual March for Life rally. President Trump stated that the activists “should not have been prosecuted,” emphasizing their advanced age. The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division has yet to comment on the pardons. This action follows Trump’s pardoning of over 1,000 Jan. 6 rioters and other executive orders on various issues.
First Piper 