DETROIT—The Justice Department’s case against seven Christian pro-lifer activists who participated in a peaceful protest at a Michigan abortion facility will hinge on the testimony of a former fellow activist who took a plea deal with the government.
On Thursday, the trial for Eva Edl, Cal Zastrow, Chester Gallagher, Heather Idoni, Justin Phillips, Joel Curry, and Eva Zastrow continued as lawyers for the defendants and the government argued over what evidence could be presented to the jury. The Biden administration has accused the protesters of engaging in a conspiracy to block women from being able to have abortions by sitting and standing in front of the doors of the Northland Family Planning Clinic in Sterling Heights, Michigan in August 2020. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 10.5 years in prison and up to $260,000 in fines.
During Thursday’s deliberations, it became clear that Justice Department lawyers would be relying heavily on the testimony of Caroline Davis, a former activist who was involved in the Michigan protest and at several other protests around the country before she was charged with felony conspiracy. Davis took a plea bargain and agreed to testify for the government, and is no longer charged with a felony.
The prosecution indicated that it would be relying on Davis’ testimony to verify several videos that will be played for the jury. Lawyers also indicated they well as use her testimony about a camping trip attended by several of the defendants before the protest, which the government called a “blockade.”
Davis appeared hostile when question by attorneys in a similar case earlier this year in a Tennessee court, and admitted that being indicted by the federal government “terrified her.”
Judge Matthew Leitman, who is presiding over the case, appeared to push back on some of the government’s arguments on Thursday, pointing to several inconsistencies in the evidence prosecutors hoped to present to the jury.
Leitman appeared especially critical with prosecutors’ claims that a livestream taken by someone at the Sterling Heights incident was furthering the alleged conspiracy, and ordered that the government rework a graphic showing the amount of phone calls between the defendants.
He said the graphic looked like a “wanted poster,” and was an “effective piece of advocacy” because it was designed in an “incriminating fashion.”
Steve Crampton, a lawyer with the Thomas More Society who is advising Gallagher, said the Justice Department’s claim that the livestream could be used to “inspire others” jeopardized the defendants’ First Amendment rights.
Leitman said that the fundamental question of the trial was whether the group intended “to save babies” or break the law, saying that “religion is not going to be put on trial” in his courtroom.
Prosecuting attorneys moved to block the defense from using images of developing babies, but Leitman said he may allow them to be used if they are referenced to during testimony. Several former employees of the Northland Family Planning Clinic are expected to testify tomorrow.
Over a dozen family members and supporters of the defendants gathered in downtown Detroit Thursday morning ahead of court proceedings to pray and sing songs like “It is Well with My Soul.” The defendants, all devout Christians, have been open about how their faith led them to take action to help save the unborn.
Edl, an 89-year-old woman who survived a communist concentration camp, told The Daily Wire on Tuesday that she wasn’t concerned about the outcome of the trial because “God wins in the end.” Her three children were all in court on Thursday to support her.
Republican lawmakers have called for the FACE Act to be repealed as the Biden administration pursues a novel prosecution technique to charge pro-lifer activists around the country with felony conspiracy charges. In some cases, pro-life protesters have been sentenced to years in prison.
