‘They Should Not Have Been Prosecuted’: Trump Pardons 23 Pro-Lifers Targeted By Biden DOJ

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday pardoning 23 of the pro-life activists targeted by President Joe Biden’s Justice Department.

“They should not have been prosecuted,” Trump said as he signed the order. “Many of them are elderly people. They should not have been prosecuted. This is a great honor to sign this.”

The pardons are for 23 “peaceful pro-life protesters who were prosecuted by the Biden administration for exercising their First Amendment rights.”

The Thomas More Society, the law firm representing the activists, had asked Trump to pardon 21 pro-lifers: Joan Bell, Coleman Boyd, Joel Curry, Jonathan Darnel, Eva Edl, Chester Gallagher, William Goodman, Dennis Green, Lauren Handy, Paulette Harlow, John Hinshaw, Heather Idoni, Jean Marshall, Fr. Fidelis Moscinski, Justin Phillips, Paul Place, Paul Vaughn, Bevelyn Beatty Williams, Calvin Zastrow, Eva Zastrow, and James Zastrow. 

(Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)

“Today, freedom rings in our great nation” said Steve Crampton, senior counsel for the Thomas More Society. “The heroic peaceful pro-lifers unjustly imprisoned by Biden’s Justice Department will now be freed and able to return home to their families, eat a family meal, and enjoy the freedom that should have never been taken from them in the first place.”

Peter Breen, the executive vice president of the firm, added: “Today is a new day for the pardoned pro-life advocates who have suffered FBI raids, federal prosecutions, and severe punishment for peacefully and courageously witnessing for life. We thank President Trump for keeping his promise to these pro-life mothers, fathers, grandparents, pastors, and priests.”

“What happened to these peaceful pro-life individuals must never happen again,” he said in a statement. “We urge Congress to act swiftly in repealing the FACE Act to make sure that the Justice Department can never again weaponize this law to target peaceful pro-lifers with severe charges.” 

The news came shortly after the Daily Wire reported that Trump would pardon the pro-life activists within a matter of days. The plight of the imprisoned pro-lifers is an immediate priority to Trump’s team, two sources with knowledge of the matter shared with The Daily Wire.

Friday is the 52nd annual March for Life, where Vice President JD Vance will publicly speak for the first time since he was sworn into office, as The Daily Wire first reported on Thursday.

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