Six pro-lifers are slated to appear in court in Little Rock on February 6 on misdemeanor criminal trespassing at an abortion facility.
Some face federal charges from the Biden Administration’s Justice Department as well.
On January 15, 2021, LRPD arrested a group of pro-life activists for blocking the entrance at Little Rock Family Planning Services — Arkansas’ only surgical abortion facility.
At least six police cruisers and numerous officers responded to the situation and arrested the pro-lifers while an estimated 30 pro-life advocates prayed and protested from the public sidewalks outside the facility.
Family Council obtained redacted police reports and audio recordings following the incident showing LRPD arrested Eva Edl of South Carolina; Chet Gallagher Tennessee; Dennis Green Virginia; Calvin Zastrow of Michigan; Emily Nurnberg of Kansas; and Heather Iddoni of Michigan.
Police reports indicate that the pro-lifers were blocking the front entrance to the abortion facility and did not leave the area when told to do so by law enforcement. As a result, all seven were arrested and charged with criminal trespassing.
Court records show the pro-lifers were convicted in February of 2022. Each was ordered to pay a $350 fine.
However, their attorney appealed the conviction, and the pro-lifers have a February 6, 2023, court date.
In the meantime, five of the defendants also have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Tennessee for allegedly violating the Free Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.
The FACE Act is a federal law generally intended to prevent people from obstructing abortion facility entrances.
A federal indictment unsealed on October 5 alleges that Gallagher, Iddoni, Zastrow, Green, and Edl blocked a Tennessee abortion facility entrance in March of 2021.
Iddoni also has been charged with violating the FACE Act in a separate case at an abortion facility in Washington, D.C.
If convicted, they face up to 11 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000. The federal case against them is currently set to go to trial January 16, 2024.
It is worth pointing out that the U.S. Supreme Court has reversed Roe v. Wade and abortion is prohibited in Arkansas except to save the life of the mother. Little Rock Family Planning Services is no longer open for business. It is unclear at this point what bearing those facts might have on these cases.
