Joe Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) has intensified its aggressive prosecution of pro-life activists, using the 1994 Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act in ways that are severe and punitive. Currently, Heather Idoni, a 61-year-old pro-life grandmother from Linden, Michigan, finds herself facing drastic consequences for her involvement in what she and her supporters describe as peaceful pro-life demonstrations.
In 2020, Idoni, along with several others, was accused of blocking access to a Washington, D.C., abortion clinic. The DOJ claims that the group used their bodies along with furniture, chains, and ropes to obstruct entrance to the facility, actions that they livestreamed on social media. This has led to charges of felony conspiracy against Idoni and her co-defendants. As a result, Idoni could face up to 50 years in federal prison and over $1 million in fines.
Solitary confinement – deemed the most extreme form of punishment that exists by the left – has been used often in Jan 6 cases, incld non-violent misdemeanor offenses. Joe Biden's DOJ Accused of Brutal Treatment of Jailed Pro-Life Grandmother https://t.co/oNagAhfoHo
— Lara Logan (@laralogan) April 30, 2024
Recently, the tactics of the DOJ and the conditions under which Idoni has been held have sparked considerable controversy. Reports from LifeSiteNews reveal that Idoni has been subjected to 22 days of solitary confinement and was paraded in court in shackles. These measures have drawn criticism from various quarters, with some comparing them to treatments that are considered inhumane and excessive under international standards.
Idoni’s account, provided during a phone interview from jail, paints a grim picture of her detention. She claims to have been allowed only sporadic and brief periods outside her cell and that the lights in her cell are kept on continually. She also describes an incident where she was brought into a courtroom heavily shackled, an image that shocked even the presiding judge who ordered the shackles to be partially removed.
BREAKING | @JoeBiden #DOJ Accused of Brutal Treatment of Jailed #ProLifer — Prolonged Solitary, Shackles#Jailed pro-lifer Heather Idoni says she has been kept in #solitaryconfinement for 22 days, with the lights of her cell kept on 24 hours a day. Idoni has been jailed since… pic.twitter.com/0CQuR1lzzv
— LifeSiteNews (@LifeSite) April 29, 2024
The conservative community and pro-life advocates have rallied around Idoni, seeing her treatment as emblematic of a broader pattern of what they perceive as the Biden DOJ’s aggressive stance against pro-life individuals. This is underscored by the DOJ-led Reproductive Rights Task Force’s enforcement of the FACE Act, which, since the reversal of Roe v. Wade, has been used predominantly against pro-life protesters. According to The Epoch Times, the FACE Act has been invoked 130 times against pro-life activists compared to only three times against pro-abortion protesters since the law’s inception.
The contrast in the DOJ’s handling of various groups is also evidence of the administration’s selective law enforcement decisions made based on political expediency. The inconsistency is obvious when considering how the DOJ addresses other forms of protest — especially those involving violence — such as those associated with Antifa, BLM or radical supporters of movements like Hamas on college campuses.
