Creepy Fetus Hoarders Set Free
115 dead fetuses in coolers are 115 dead fetuses in coolers too many.
This week, Donald Trump has gone on something of a spree, offering pardons and clemency to pretty much anyone who has committed a crime in the name of far-right politics. January 6 rioters, police officers who went to prison for murdering Black people, Proud Boys, etc., etc. Next week, surely, he’ll set the whole of the Aryan Nations free.
On Thursday, he decided to free 23 anti-abortion terrorists, including 10 absolute loons who “occupied” and blockaded a Washington DC abortion clinic in 2020. One of these loons was Lauren Handy, who was discovered to be in possession of five fetuses (though she claimed she had 115 fetuses) she stole from a medical waste truck —which, if you ask me, is even weirder than collecting commemorative plates.
The anti-abortion terrorists were charged with violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE Act), which was enacted to prevent violence towards and harassment of people just trying to enter a damned abortion clinic — often for non-abortion-related appointments. It’s an especially necessary piece of legislation, given how fond the “pro-life” movement is of murdering those with whom they disagree. It’s also worth noting that these people did not just block an entrance, they “occupied” the clinic,
Handy, who — weirdly enough — was not charged for her dead fetus collection, was sentenced to five years in prison for her actions. The other defendants were sentenced to less than three years.
Via the New York Times:
Steve Crampton, senior counsel at the nonprofit Thomas More Society law firm, which represented Ms. Handy, said that his client and her co-defendants “were treated shamefully by Biden’s D.O.J.," referring to the Department of Justice, “with many of them branded felons and losing many rights that we take for granted as American citizens.”
He added, “Thank you to President Trump and his team for righting these grievous wrongs of the previous administration.”
They weren’t branded felons, they committed felonies and were subsequently found or pleaded guilty to having committed said felonies. There’s a difference!
As if this isn’t bad enough, in the last few days, Congressional Republicans have actually moved to repeal the FACE Act altogether, in hopes of making it easier for future Eric Rudolphs, Robert Dears, and Scott Roeders to murder clinic workers and those seeking abortions.
In contrast to all of this, I’d like us all to take a moment and remember that time that seven Senate Democrats rejected Debo P. Adegbile, Barack Obama’s choice to lead the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, simply because, as the litigation director of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, he assisted Mumia Abu-Jamal in his death penalty appeal. Why? Because of how much it would upset all of the very delicate Republicans who didn’t care that Abu-Jamal had a blatantly unfair trial or that there is a lot of evidence that he is actually innocent. Do you see any Republicans saying “Oh gosh, we’d love to set these people free but it would really upset Democrats and we don’t want to do that?” No, you do not.
Rather, Republicans like Josh Hawley and Marjorie Taylor Greene have argued that these particular criminals should get a pass explicitly on the grounds of “we also think abortion is bad.”
Meanwhile, of course, we’re still seeing ridiculous thinkpieces about how very wrong and bad it was of Biden to preemptively pardon his family and Anthony Fauci for all of the crimes they didn’t actually commit (including by people who claim to oppose Trump).
While I’m not usually one to complain about anyone being let out of prison, it’s fairly galling to see these people set free — while so many people who are actually innocent or obviously over-sentenced remain behind bars — by a convicted felon and adjudicated rapist who wants to expand the death penalty, has called for shoplifters to be shot on sight, and who thinks undocumented immigrants are the worst criminals in all the land.
PREVIOUSLY ON WONKETTE!
Speaking of Fauci, Trump just cancelled his personal security. Because our president is a fucking mob boss.
Were Lauren Handy and Kim Davis separated at birth? I at first thought this piece was going to be about some further fuckery from that asshole clerk from Kentucky until I saw the caption of that lead pic.