The FBI Raided Mark Houck’s Home Because He’s Pro-Life. That Must Never Happen Again

I’m thrilled to share that the House Judiciary Committee has voted H.R. 589, the FACE Act Repeal Act, sponsored by Congressman Chip Roy, out of Committee with a 13-10 vote.

This critical step toward ending the abuse and discriminatory enforcement of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act reflects years of our tireless advocacy, hard-hitting litigation, and your unwavering support through it all.

The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act has long been weaponized to target pro-life advocates, used especially aggressively by Biden’s Department of Justice as a cudgel to punish pro-life speech and peaceful expression with felony charges carrying crippling penalties.

As Thomas More Society Executive Vice President & General Counsel, yesterday I was in meetings all day and on the committee floor monitoring the vote—answering any last-minute legal questions lawmakers had, after having briefed their staff, arming them with the best legal arguments backing the repeal of the FACE Act.

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This monumental vote is a culmination of years of Thomas More Society advocacy efforts, from directly working with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to providing detailed legal analyses and briefing senators, members of congress, and their staffers exposing the FACE Act as being unconstitutional and far too susceptible of being weaponized and rally support for its repeal.

This committee vote is a significant milestone, but we need your urgent help to keep the momentum going, because our opposition won’t let FACE be repealed without a fight.

Our defense of pro-life heroes targeted under the FACE Act across the country was the spark that lit the fire behind this repeal battle—but we haven’t let up outside of the courtroom either.

All the while, I’ve been in constant contact with lawmakers and their staff, providing them with hundreds of pages of legal arguments in favor of repealing the FACE Act, meeting with them repeatedly.

In May 2023, our client and pro-life dad, Mark Houck, testified before a congressional subcommittee, sharing his chilling experience of the early morning SWAT-style FBI raid on his home and weaponized prosecution by the Biden DOJ—sparked by baseless FACE Act charges. His story laid bare the law’s abuse.

In December 2024, TMS Senior Counsel Steve Crampton and our client Paul Vaughn, another pro-life dad targeted under the FACE Act, testified before the same congressional subcommittee in a watershed hearing, exposing another egregious abuse of government power by telling the harrowing story of his early morning SWAT-style arrest and prosecution.

This January, our team of attorneys submitted to the incoming Trump Administration a formal pardon request package for the pro-lifers unjustly convicted after being hauled into federal court by Biden’s DOJ, calling on President Trump to deliver on his campaign promise of restoring justice.

Backed with our sound legal arguments, unshakeable evidence, and our pro-life clients’ full testimonials, President Trump pardoned 23 of our pro-life heroes.

Then in February, we were back on Capitol Hill, where TMS Executive Vice President and Head of Litigation Peter Breen presented powerful arguments before another house subcommittee, highlighting the FACE Act’s abuse, selective enforcement, and urgent need for repeal.

We are forging the momentum behind yesterday’s vote by the House Judiciary Committee to send the FACE Act repeal bill to the floor of the House.

LifeNews Note: Andrew Bath is Executive Vice President & General Counsel of the Thomas More Society.

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