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Headline Roundup April 15th, 2026

Biden Admin 'Weaponized' the FACE Act: DOJ Report

Summary from the AllSides News Team

The Justice Department's (DOJ) Weaponization Working Group published a report "detailing the Biden Administration's weaponization of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act" on Tuesday. The department's findings, "based on a review of over 700,000 internal records," have since resulted in four prosecutors' terminations. 

The Details: The DOJ "conducted a thorough review of internal discussions, case files, and prosecutorial decisions under the Act and concludes that the Biden DOJ weaponized the FACE Act in several ways," according to a press release that pointed to the following:

  • "The Biden DOJ affirmatively asked pro-abortion groups about pro-life individuals' travel and constitutionally protected advocacy."
  • "Prosecutors knowingly withheld evidence that defense counsel requested to prepare an affirmative defense, tried to screen out jurors based on religion, and authorized aggressive arrest tactics."
  • "The Biden DOJ requested an average sentence of 26.8 months for pro-life defendants, compared to 12.3 months for pro-abortion defendants."
  • "The Biden DOJ provided extensive support to abortion clinics, while ignoring and downplaying vandalism and attacks against pregnancy resource centers."

What Is The FACE Act? Congress established the FACE Act in 1994 to "protect and promote the public safety and health and activities affecting interstate commerce by establishing Federal criminal penalties and civil remedies for certain violent, threatening, obstructive and destructive conduct that is intended to injure, intimidate or interfere with persons seeking to obtain or provide reproductive health services." During his first week back in office, Trump pardoned 23 pro-life advocates who were arrested by Biden's DOJ for allegedly violating the FACE Act. Track Trump's campaign promises on abortion. 

How The Media Covered It: News outlets on the left and in the center largely omitted coverage of the report. Outlets on the right covered it substantially. While outlets on the left, such as CBS News (Lean Left bias), generally framed its findings as mere accusations, outlets on the right, such as Daily Caller (Right) and The Western Journal (Right), generally framed them as more objective.

Written by the AllSides staff (of humans). Learn more. Support our mission. Suggest an improvement to this summary.

Featured Coverage of this Story

From the Right
Biden DOJ Enlisted Abortion Groups To Help Track Pro-Life Activists
Biden DOJ Enlisted Abortion Groups To Help Track Pro-Life Activists

Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images

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Abortion advocacy groups routinely helped the Biden Department of Justice (DOJ) track pro-life activists, providing information that became the basis for indictments, according to a new report.

The DOJ's National Task Force on Violence Against Reproductive Health Care Providers "affirmatively asked the abortion groups about pro-life individuals' travel and constitutionally protected advocacy," according to a Tuesday report on the Biden administration's "weaponization" of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act...

Open on The Daily Caller
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From the Right
Explosive Report: Biden DOJ Collaborated with Pro-Abortion Groups to Target Pro-Lifers
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A new report released Tuesday by the Department of Justice outlined how the Biden administration weaponized the federal government against pro-life groups and what steps are being taken to fix it.

"The Justice Department's Weaponization Working Group published a report detailing the Biden Administration's weaponization of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act," a government news release read.

"Based on a review of over 700,000 internal records, the report not only details specific ways the Biden Justice Department weaponized federal law, but also outlines the corrective action taken...

Open on The Western Journal
From the Left
Justice Department releases report accusing Biden-era DOJ of uneven enforcement of FACE Act law
News

The Justice Department on Tuesday released a report that accused the Biden administration of using the FACE Act to target anti-abortion activists who were prosecuted for blocking patients' access to reproductive health clinics.

The report is the first of several expected to be issued by the Weaponization Working Group, created last year, that is meant to examine a variety of topics from the Jan. 6 prosecutions, to the handling of investigations into President Trump during his time out of office...

Open on CBS News (Online)

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