New documents reveal missing holes in the FBI’s case against a pro-life, conservative father whose Pennsylvania home was raided.
Last year Mark Houck was accused of allegedly shoving an abortion escort, Bruce Love, at an abortion clinic in Philadelphia, 11 months before he was detained at his home.
The incident has sparked confusion among many, including U.S. Senators questioning why Houck’s home was raided by the FBI a whole year later.
The raid comes after Love’s private complaint was made public, revealing its conflicts with the allegations contained in the federal indictment against Houck.
“An email exchange between Houck’s lawyer and the U.S. attorney’s office raises significant questions about the Biden administration’s decision to charge Houck with purported violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, or ‘FACE Act,’ and further calls into question the FBI’s excessive show of force when arresting Houck,” the private complaint read, obtained first by the Federalist.
However, the documents show holes in the charges against the father of seven.
One of them is the decision to raid Houck’s home, even after his attorney sent a letter to Assistant U.S. Attorney Anita Eve that if the government did move forward with a case against Houck, his attorney would accept a summons on his client’s behalf so that Houck and his family would not need to go through needless disruption.
However, it wasn't until after the raid did Houck and his attorney received a response.
"When the defendant has a lawyer, a respected former federal prosecutor, offering to bring the deferment wherever the US attorney’s office would like him presented there is no reason to send one agent, much less 20… the question is why there were a bunch of people with long guns, ballistic shields and body armor outside this peaceful person’s home to effect an arrest warrant that was utterly unnecessary and put the Houck family in danger,” Houck’s attorney, Peter Breen said.
Another looming question in the case is that Houck was charged with two counts of assaulting a reproductive healthcare clinic escort. However, it is reported that Love was not escorting any patients in or out of the clinic at the time of the incident.
Houck’s attorney argues that the absence of any patients undermines the federal government’s use of the FACE Act to prosecute him.
Additionally, Love’s formal complaint only mentions one incident of shoving, while Houck’s federal indictment claims he shoved Love twice.
“Mr. Love is now claiming a second instance where he says he was knocked to the ground… that is false. We look forward to some sort of evidence of that alleged other instance because if a crime had taken place we assume that Mr. Love would have put it in his private criminal complaint he brought to the Pennsylvania state courts,” Breen said.
On September 23, the FBI raided Houck’s home while his wife and seven children watched terrified. He was arrested by federal agents for allegedly shoving a Planned Parenthood abortion escort