Pro-Lifer Spending Thanksgiving In Prison Grateful For Opportunity: ‘A DOJ-Sponsored Mission Trip’

For only the second time in their 41-year marriage, Calvin and Trish Zastrow will be spending Thanksgiving apart. The first time was due to travel — this time it’s because Cal is serving a six-month prison sentence over a peaceful protest at a Tennessee abortion facility in 2021.

Zastrow was convicted earlier this year on FACE Act-related charges brought by the Biden administration after he prayed, sang hymns, and sat in front of the door to the entrance of an abortion facility in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. Calling from the Federal Correctional Institute Thomson in Illinois this week, Zastrow told The Daily Wire he was doing “absolutely fantastic.”

“I’m all on fire for Jesus,” he said. “I’m doing absolutely great, I’m on a big mission trip here.”

Over one month into his prison sentence, Zastrow said he has kept busy praying, reading his Bible, and teaching his fellow inmates about Christianity.

“There’s a whole lot of prodigals who are wallowing in pig mud, but they want to come back to Jesus, and so I’m here as a missionary to pull them out of that and help them get back on the Jesus road,” he said.

He said his friends and family have sent him over 50 books, mostly about Christian missionaries, and he has turned his cell into a sort of library. Zastrow said he’s been giving away a lot of copies in English and Spanish of the book “Tortured for Christ,” which is about Richard Wurmbrand, a pastor who spent years in a communist prison in Romania.

In a low-security section of the prison, Zastrow said he has seen few fights but has met a broad diversity of prisoners — from men convicted over January 6 to recruiters for ISIS and the Taliban.

He said that many of the January 6 prisoners are optimistic that they will get pardoned once President-elect Donald Trump takes office. He also referenced the discussion that Trump may pardon him, as the president-elect previously indicated that he would look at the cases of pro-lifers targeted by the Biden administration.

“I’m not getting my hopes up too high,” he said. “Plus I’m busy here. I’m busy. This prison holds almost 2,300 men and their need to hear about Jesus, their need for that is greater than my need for liberty. And so I’m here on a DOJ-sponsored mission trip.”

He said that most of the guards in the prison were unpleasant and would frequently “bark” and “scream” at the prisoners. “They can’t touch my joy, they can’t touch my soul, they can’t touch my attitude,” he said.

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Meanwhile, he said he has been able to call his wife pretty much every day so far.

“We are very proud of our Cal,” Trish told The Daily Wire on Wednesday. “He’s in there ministering every day. He’s doing well. He isn’t backing down from things.”

Trish was able to visit her husband earlier this month, saying she was able to spend about four hours talking to him. Still, she said it has been tough to be away from him.

“We miss him around here,” she said, noting that they had a new grandson born on November 1. “I didn’t get to share it with Cal, he’s such a great grandpa.”

Zastrow gets 500 minutes a month to call people in 15-minute increments. Trish said her daughter put a special ringtone on her phone so she knows whenever he calls.

“One of the hardest things is I can’t just call and talk to him whenever I want,” she said. “I don’t want to ever miss a call.”

Zastrow is scheduled to be released from prison on April 8, but may be able to qualify for a few days of early release if he takes some classes. His family is eager to see him back, but say they are grateful for the opportunity he’s been given to share his faith.

“I feel very privileged to be his wife and I’m very proud of him for standing,” she said. “I’m excited to see what God does with all this.”