Priests for Life, through the American Freedom Law Center, this week filed a Freedom of Information Act request to get to the bottom of the Biden administration’s targeting of pro-life individuals and organizations and its increased scrutiny of “traditional Catholics.”
Priests for Life National Director Frank Pavone said his organization is demanding more detailed information about exactly what the FBI and the Justice Department are hoping to achieve by going after pro-lifers.
“We want to know exactly how they are using our taxpayer dollars to go after groups like ours and activists just like us, who is involved, and who has been targeted,” Pavone said. “Republicans in Congress, with the help of courageous whistleblowers, have brought to light in recent months that the FBI is targeting ‘traditional Catholics,’ sometimes even enlisting the help of pastors and diocesan Church officials. We are demanding more information about that as well. We want to see the memos; we want to know about the communications they have undertaken to pursue American citizens based on their religious beliefs and practices.”
“We also want to know what members of the hierarchy have been complicit in this,” he added.
Robert Muise, co-founder and senior counsel for the American Freedom Law Center, said the attacks against pro-lifers and Catholics cannot be allowed to be swept under the rug.
“We have seen an unprecedented attack against ‘traditional’ Catholics and pro-lifers under the Biden administration. Biden and his attorney general, Merrick Garland, have weaponized the Department of Justice, which includes the FBI, to target peaceful law-abiding citizens because they are political adversaries. Meanwhile, federal law enforcement authorities turn a blind eye to the observed and well-documented violence of left-wing radical groups associated with Antifa and the Black Lives Matter movement because this administration considers them political allies.
“These police state tactics must stop. We intend to use the Freedom of Information Act to shine a light on these dark tactics of the Department of Justice.”
The Freedom of Information Act was passed in 1967 as a way to allow private citizens the right to request access to records from any federal agency. According to FOIA.gov, federal agencies are required to disclose any information requested under the act, unless it falls under one of nine exemptions that protect personal privacy, national security and law enforcement.
The recent movie “Police State” (www.PoliceStateFilm.net) is a revealing analysis of how government has been weaponized against American citizens, including our friend and pro-life colleague Mark Houck, whom Priests for Life will honor at the National Prayer Service in Washington on the morning of the March for Life.