Federal Judge Pauses Case Against Pro-Lifers Until Trump Takes Office: ‘New Sheriff In Town’

A federal judge paused the Justice Department’s case against seven pro-life Christians awaiting sentencing over a peaceful protest at an abortion facility in Michigan as President Joe Biden prepares to leave office. 

Judge Matthew Leitman ordered Tuesday that the FACE Act and felony conspiracy case against the pro-life activists be paused until after President-elect Donald Trump takes office. The pro-lifers, including 89-year-old communist concentration camp survivor Eva Edl, face up to 10 years for their conviction on conspiracy charges in September. 

Sentencing had not yet been scheduled due to several pending motions from the defense to dismiss the convictions that Leitman has not yet ruled on. These motions will further be delayed due to the judge’s latest order. 

“As further discussed on the record, the Court will conduct another status conference during the week of March 24, 2025, to receive a report from the Government trial team as to whether there has been any change in the Government’s position with respect to the continuation of this case and/or with respect to the positions expected to be advanced by the Defendants in their post-trial motions,” Leitman, an Obama appointee, wrote in a court order viewed by The Daily Wire. 

Leitman’s order comes as there is anticipation that President-elect Donald Trump may quickly move to pardon the pro-lifers who have been imprisoned under Biden. Back in June, Trump promised to review the cases of “every political prisoner,” including people imprisoned over the FACE Act.

The judge said that he would schedule an earlier conference on the case if the Justice Department was notified earlier of changes in handling the case. 

Alongside Edl, those facing sentencing are Chester Gallagher, Heather Idoni, Joel Curry, Justin Phillips, Cal Zastrow, and his daughter Eva Zastrow. They were found to have violated the FACE Act and conspiracy against rights over a peaceful protest at the Northland Family Planning Clinic. 

Leitman’s order followed a status conference on the case on Monday in Detroit. On Wednesday, he ordered lawyers for the defendants to appear for the status hearing on March 25. 

Steve Crampton, a lawyer from the Thomas More Society involved with the case, told The Daily Wire that Leitman decided to stay the proceedings during a status conference on Monday “in light of the election results and the likelihood that a new Department of Justice would alter its policies concerning prosecution of these FACE cases and in particular the use of the Conspiracy Against Rights statute against these defendants.”

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Crampton told The Daily Wire that Leitman was concerned it would be a waste of taxpayer money to keep paying court appointed attorneys because the “motions that may become moot depending on the new DOJ policies.” Crampton added that he told the judge that he and others were working on preparing formal petitions for pardons for the activists, as Trump has previously indicated he would look into doing if elected. 

“I think the judge was correct in his thinking about the DOJ perhaps reversing course here and ordering a stay of the proceedings,” Crampton said. “There is a new sheriff in town, and these prosecutions were always more about the politics of protecting the abortion industry than they were about serious violations of the law.”

Multiple pro-lifers across the country are currently incarcerated on FACE Act-related charges brought by Biden’s Justice Department. 

During a Faith and Freedom Coalition conference in June, Trump talked about taking action on the first day of his term to help 75-year-old Paulette Harlow, who is serving a two-year prison sentence for the FACE Act.

“Paulette is one of many peaceful pro-lifers who Joe Biden has rounded up, sometimes with SWAT teams, and thrown them in jail,” Trump said. “Many people are in jail over this. … We’re going to get that taken care of immediately — [on the] first day.”

He added that he will “rapidly review the cases of every political prisoner who’s unjustly victimized by the Biden regime, including Paulette, so we can get them out of the gulags and back to their families where they belong.”