A federal jury convicted seven defendants on Tuesday of federal civil rights offenses arising out of their blockade of a reproductive health care clinic in Sterling Heights, Michigan, on Aug. 27, 2020.
The defendants were each convicted of a felony conspiracy against rights and a Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act offense.
Two defendants were convicted of a second FACE Act offense arising out of a blockade of a reproductive health care clinic in Saginaw, Michigan.
“These defendants orchestrated an unlawful clinic blockade and physically obstructed patients seeking access to their doctors, without regard to the serious medical needs of the women they blocked from accessing reproductive health care,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
“My office is committed to protecting all of the legal rights of our district’s citizens, including the right to access reproductive health care,” said U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison for the Eastern District of Michigan. “The defendants convicted today sought to interfere with that right by physically blocking the doors of clinics providing such services. These defendants are entitled to their views, but they are not entitled to prevent others from exercising the rights secured to them by the laws of the United States. This case is about the rule of law, and today’s verdict is a victory for that principle.”
According to evidence presented at trial, Calvin Zastrow, Chester Gallagher, Heather Idoni, Caroline Davis, Joel Curry, Justin Phillips, Eva Edl and Eva Zastrow engaged in a conspiracy to prevent clinic employees from providing, and patients from receiving, reproductive health services, a civil right secured by the FACE Act.
A sentencing hearing will be set at a later date.
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