Abortion Laws Used to Arrest Journalists
From the Texas Panhandle, we’ve learned to expect cruelty dressed up as “law and order.” What we didn’t expect (but probably should have!) is the Trump administration using a pro-choice abortion law to arrest a world-renown journalist.
Earlier this week, Don Lemon, the longtime journalist and former CNN anchor, was taken into custody alongside three others during a protest at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota. Federal prosecutors accused them of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, a law passed to protect abortion patients and providers from harassment and violence.
The protest took place at a church whose pastor also happens to work as a high-ranking U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official. Lemon’s attorney made it clear:
“Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done.”
This wasn’t an attack on clinic access. It was an attack on free speech and protest, using abortion law as a weapon.
This Didn’t Come Out of Nowhere
Abortion advocates have been sounding the alarm since Trump returned to the White House. Many have warned that his DoJ would twist abortion-related laws to punish dissent. And that’s exactly what’s happening now.
First, Trump’s DOJ announced it would effectively stop enforcing the FACE Act altogether….unless someone was killed. We’re not exaggerating.
Then, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon openly claimed that the “only violence” happening around abortion clinics is against the “speech and prayer” of anti-abortion protesters and crisis pregnancy centers. After that, the DoJ repurposed the FACE Act to go after pro-Palestinian protesters, proving it was never about “clinic safety.” It was always about silencing opposition
What Is the FACE Act?
The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act is a federal law passed in 1994 to protect people seeking and providing reproductive health care. In plain terms, the FACE Act makes it illegal to:
Use force, threats, or physical obstruction to block access to abortion clinics
Intimidate or harass patients, providers, or clinic staff
Damage or destroy reproductive health care facilities
The law was created in response to decades of anti-abortion violence, including clinic blockades, arson, bomb threats, and murders of abortion providers.
It’s important to note that the FACE Act was not designed to criminalize protest, journalism, or speech. It was meant to ensure that people could access medical care safely, without fear, coercion, or violence.
That’s why its recent use by the Trump Department of Justice is so alarming. Instead of protecting patients and clinics, the law is now being twisted to punish protesters, silence journalists, and suppress dissent, while real anti-abortion violence continues to spread.
Meanwhile, Real Violence Goes Unchecked
While Trump’s DOJ arrests journalists and protesters and ICE continues to k*ll and harm communities across the nation, this administration continues to give free rein to anti-abortion extremists who threaten, stalk, and terrorize abortion providers and patients every single day. This is not hypothetical. It’s documented, escalating, and deadly. Clinics face bomb threats, providers often need bodyguards, and patients are harassed daily in parking lots. And yet the federal government’s response would rather arrest journalists and call it “law enforcement.”
Why This Matters in Texas and Beyond
In Texas, we live under abortion bans so extreme they’ve already cost numerous lives. We’ve seen the law weaponized against patients, helpers, doctors, advocates, and now even journalists.
What’s happening in Minnesota and across our country has made one thing crystal clear: none of these fights are separate.
An assault on abortion access is an assault on bodily autonomy.
An assault on protest is an assault on free speech.
An assault on journalists is an assault on democracy itself.
You cannot defend the Constitution while shredding it piece by piece. So let us be clear:
Fuck ICE. Fuck Trump.
And fuck the idea that we’re supposed to be quiet while our rights are stripped away.
From Amarillo to Minneapolis, we will not stay silent in the face of injustice or in the face of abortion bans. We will keep telling the truth. We will keep showing up. And we will keep fighting for every right this administration wants us to forget we have.
If you or someone you know wants to find out more about your reproductive health options, please find all the info you need to know on our Resources Page.
