Pro-life activist Mark Houck was found not guilty by a federal court in Philadelphia on Jan. 30 on charges that arose from an October 2021 altercation outside a Planned Parenthood clinic.
Houck was accused of twice violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which prohibits “violent, threatening, damaging, and obstructive conduct intended to injure, intimidate, or interfere with the right to seek, obtain, or provide reproductive health services.”
Specifically, the Department of Justice (DOJ) alleged that Houck assaulted Bruce Love, a 72-year-old clinic escort, on two occasions—once by pushing him to the ground as he was escorting patients from the clinic and a second time during a verbal altercation in front of the facility.
Houck’s attorneys, however, argued that Love was “extremely aggressive” and had been “harassing” Houck’s 12-year-old son before any altercation ensued.
Houck, a father of seven, was arrested by the FBI in September in an early morning raid that was widely criticized by conservatives as evidence of the Biden administration’s political weaponization of the agency.
“If he was truly a danger to the community, they wouldn’t have waited a year to prosecute,” noted Patrick Breen, Houck’s attorney and vice president of the Thomas More Society, following Houck’s arrest.
“Serious questions need to be asked of the Attorney General,” Breen added. “What was he thinking? Why did they do this obscene show of force against a peaceful pillar of the community?”
Raided
According to Houck’s wife, Ryan-Marie Houck, the raid on their home involved dozens of armed FBI agents who threatened to break down their door and pointed weapons at family members.
“It’s hard to even express the victimization and how traumatized we all are,” she said on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” after the arrest.
“My entire front yard, you could barely see it; it was covered with at least 15 big trucks and cars,” she added, estimating that 20 to 30 agents showed up at their home.
