Nearly 40 congressional Republicans sent a letter Wednesday to the FBI expressing deep concern over the rise in high-profile investigations into pro-life Americans since the overturning of Roe v. Wade last summer.
Such investigations have raised “well-founded concerns that the FBI has amassed too much power and has become a partisan cudgel wielded by the Biden Administration at the behest of progressive activists against political opponents and dissenters,” the letter reads.
The letter, written by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) and signed by House and Senate lawmakers, lays out demands for transparency and data on the bureau’s enforcement of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE), which prohibits threatening or using physical force to intimidate a person seeking an abortion.
“I am outraged by the Biden administration’s open war on pro-life activists and weaponization of federal law enforcement against patriotic Americans for their beliefs,” Roy told Fox News Digital in a statement. “This administration has a lot of explaining to do when protecting one’s own child means armed FBI agents at the door.”
Republican politicians accuse the FBI and the Department of Justice of failing to investigate and prosecute pro-abortionists who have allegedly attacked or vandalized more than 72 pregnancy resource centers and 80 Catholic churches since the Dobbs leak in May. The letter states such “heinous, violent, and organized crimes across state lines should be subject to prosecution under the FACE Act, which prohibits damage or destruction to abortion facilities, pregnancy centers, and houses of worship.”
Among the dozens of cases the letter cites, Republican leaders point to the arrest of pro-life activist Mark Houck at his own home, charges pressed against Franciscan monk Fr. Fidelis Moscinski, and FBI agents questioning pro-life activists outside a Planned Parenthood facility in Minnesota.
“These abuses of federal power against pro-life Americans based solely on their beliefs undermine the American people’s trust in the FBI,” the letter reads.
Congressional Republicans have requested a briefing by October 20, 2022, and are demanding a list of answers surrounding federal authorities’ use of the FACE Act.
According to the letter, cosigners included House of Representatives Reps. Chris Smith, Bob Good, Andy Biggs, Randy Weber, Louie Gohmert, Mary Miller, Jeff Duncan, Michael Cloud, Andrew Clyde, Daniel Webster, Debbie Lesko, Andy Harris, Bill Posey, Ralph Norman, Doug Lamborn, Ronny Jackson, Glenn Grothman, Dan Bishop, Jody Hice, Paul Gosar, Lauren Boebert, Brian Babin, Jim Banks, and Randy Feenstra.
Republican senators who signed on included Sens. Lee, Marshall, Rubio, Tillis, Daines, Cotton, Risch, Braun, Crapo, and Cruz.
The FBI has yet to respond to the letter.
