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Florida Trio Admits to Vandalizing Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers
A Florida trio has pleaded guilty to conspiring to injure employees of pregnancy resource centers in the free exercise of their right to provide and seek reproductive health services. Caleb Freestone, 33, Amber Smith-Stewart, 41, and Annarella Rivera, 32, admitted to vandalizing pro-life pregnancy help centers in Florida between May and July 2022.
The defendants, who wore masks and dark clothing to conceal their identities, spray-painted threatening messages on the facilities, including "If abortions aren’t safe than niether [sic] are you," "YOUR TIME IS UP!!," "WE’RE COMING for U," and "We are everywhere." The attacks took place in the dead of night, targeting facilities that provided and counseled abortion alternatives.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division stated, "These defendants vandalized pregnancy resource centers with threatening messages meant to terrify the employees of those centers. Violence and threats have no place in the national discourse about reproductive rights."
"Federal law protects providers who render reproductive health care and those who seek their services," said U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg for the Middle District of Florida. "Neither should be subject to unlawful intimidation or threats of harm." A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later date, with each defendant facing a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
The case was investigated by the FBI Tampa Field Office, with assistance from the Miami Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacie Harris and Trial Attorney Laura-Kate Bernstein are prosecuting the case.
Anyone with information about incidents of violence, threats, and obstruction targeting reproductive health service providers or facilities is encouraged to report it to the FBI at www.tips.fbi.gov. For more information about clinic violence and the Justice Department’s efforts to enforce FACE Act violations, visit www.justice.gov/crt/national-task-force-violence-against-reproductive-health-care-providers.
Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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