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OPINION

Mark Houck's Arrest Shows Just How Corrupt the Biden-Garland Justice Department Is

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.
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AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

Remember how we always said that if the Justice Department and the FBI could abuse their power to violate the rights of the president of the United States, they can do it to anyone? 

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Well, meet Mark Houck. 

Mark Houck was praying in front of a Planned Parenthood abortion factory in Philadelphia. He was standing on a city street sidewalk with his 12-year-old son minding his own business. Then an incident made him the victim of one of the grossest abuses of power in the Department of Justice's history. 

Coming off of the obscene Russian collusion hoax and the FBI's continued investigation of parents as domestic terrorists for complaining to their local school boards, the idea that we could see an even more blatant abuse of power and government intimidation against an innocent American citizen would normally be unthinkable. But sadly, here we are. 

A volunteer for Planned Parenthood named Bruce Love went out of his way to get in Mr. Houck's face as he was praying for the lost souls contemplating ending their unborn baby's life. Love approached Mr. Houck and his 12-year-old son and began verbally berating him. Again, this is on a public sidewalk where Mr. Houck was exercising his First Amendment right to free speech and his First Amendment right to freely practice his religion. 

After being berated by Mr. Love with vile, despicable, unrepeatable vitriol, Mr. Houck did what any father would do as their son was exposed to such verbal abuse. He extended both of his arms against Mr. Love's chest to clear him away from his personal space.

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Mr. Love then executed a flop to the sidewalk reminiscent of LeBron James trying to draw a charging foul in an NBA game.

And there it was – a so-called physical assault that literally became a federal case under Joe Biden and Merrick Garland's rogue Justice Department.

Last October, armed FBI agents stormed Mr. Houck's home and arrested him at gunpoint in front of his seven children. Now, in case you think something has been edited out of this story, or you've had to go back and read the previous paragraphs to make sure you didn't miss anything, let me assure you, you did not miss anything. The entire incident that led to an armed raid on Mr. Houck's home was nothing more than a schoolyard shove.

To understand how corrupt Biden's Justice Department is in this case, one must recognize that the Philadelphia Police Department refused to press charges against Mr. Houck. Love attempted to get physical assault charges levied against his deadly assailant, and the Philly cops and District Attorney laughed him out of the room. 

But Joe Biden and Merrick Garland had to appease their bloodthirsty pro-abortion funding base, so the FBI was dispatched, and Houck faced federal charges in a warped and distorted interpretation of the FACE act. 

What is the FACE act? It was a law put in place in the '90s after a series of violent incidents where pro-life protesters attempted to physically disrupt individuals trying to obtain an abortion and to disrupt the abortion providers from executing their ghoulish work.

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After viewing the video of the confrontation between Mr. Love and Mr. Houck, one would be derided and mocked to suggest that any of this falls under the FACE act. And that is exactly what a jury did yesterday to Mr. Garland's federal prosecutors. They spanked the feds by providing a full, unambiguous victory for Mr. Houck, truth and justice. 

But you see, the FBI armed raid and the federal prosecution of Mr. Houck were never really about the law or the truth or justice. It was about scaring the hell out of you. 

That's what Joe Biden and Merrick Garland's Justice Department has turned into. An intimidation factory meant to terrorize everyday American citizens from exercising their constitutional rights if those activities disrupt the far-left agenda spearheaded by Biden and his party.

You want to stand in front of an abortion mill and pray the rosary? You better lawyer up and be ready for your children to be traumatized by an early morning arrest at gunpoint. 

You want to show up at a school board meeting and challenge your elected officials for their horrific policies? You will be investigated like the terrorist you are.

Not everybody has the wherewithal to get civically engaged. Not everybody has the courage to stand up and speak out. Not everybody has it in them to push back against a local state or federal government that no longer represents their constitutional rights.

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But if you are that person. If you dare to stand up and protect the unborn by quietly praying. If you do show up on a Tuesday night in the dead of winter to engage your local elected officials on your child's education. If you're that guy…Joe Biden and Merrick Garland see you as a problem. No, they see you as a criminal.

Yes, they violated President Trump's civil rights with their despicable fake collusion investigation. And yes, they can do it to you, too.

As Jim Jordan and the Judiciary Committee in the House begin investigating the weaponization of the federal government and Justice Department against ordinary American citizens, I hope Mr. Houck becomes their star witness. It's Exhibit A of everything that's gone wrong. 

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