Sen. Mike Lee presses AG Garland on lack of arrests in pro-life attacks
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, discusses U.S.-Japan relations and the handling of threats to Supreme Court justices, Catholic churches and pregnancy centers.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, called out Attorney General Merrick Garland Thursday for not prosecuting individuals responsible for some 200 attacks against pro-life pregnancy centers and Catholic churches.
Lee joined "America's Newsroom" to discuss Wednesday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, where he also demanded answers for how the Justice Department has handled protests outside the homes of Supreme Court justices.
Lee said only two people have been charged since the attacks began last year following the leak of the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision and subsequent ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade.
The FBI and Justice Department are putting their "full resources" into tracking and punishing attacks on pro-life pregnancy centers, Attorney General Merrick Garland claimed Wednesday in response to Lee.
Graffiti and red paint found at Washington, DC’s Capitol Hill Pregnancy Center. (Capitol Hill Pregnancy Center) (Capitol Hill Pregnancy Center)
"You are right that there are many more prosecutions with respect to the blocking of abortion centers," Garland told Lee. "But that is generally because those actions are taken with photography at the time, during the daylight. Seeing the person who did it is quite easy."
"Those who are attacking pregnancy resource centers, which is a horrid thing to do, are doing this at night in the dark," Garland continued. "We have put full resources on this."
Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. (Carolyn Kaster-Pool/Getty Images)
Lee called this defense "absurd," arguing that "what he's doing there is assisting the criminally minded in scheduling their criminality."
"The defense is preposterous. … It really defies reason and logic to suggest that we can't find, detect, arrest and prosecute people who commit their crimes at night, especially given that if we know they're doing this at night, should make it that much easier to look out for them."
"We live in a day and age where we can find security camera footage. You can track people down. The Department of Justice does this all the time. So why not with respect to the pregnancy centers and the Catholic churches that have been vandalized?" Lee told Dana Perino.
After the Supreme Court Dobbs decision was leaked, outraged pro-choice protesters went to the homes of justices, which according to Lee was illegal.
Protestors and drummers marched outside of Kavanaugh's house after an alleged assassination attempt (Fox News)
"It is a crime under 18 U.S.C. Section 1507. It is a federal criminal offense. And so, look, it's great that he's sent U.S. marshals over there. That's great. But they're not there to be the welcome wagon. They are there to make sure that the law is observed and that their rights and the safety of the justices are being protected."
Lee questioned why there was never a single arrest and said, "the Department of Justice can still track these people down."
"We can discover their identity. We can prosecute them. And I guarantee you, the minute we start doing so, these protests will end. But they've been going on constantly ever since Dobbs was leaked in May."
Lee said there is a clear "disparity" between how Garland's DOJ handles these matters compared to the arrests of pro-life activists.
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The DOJ has still made no arrests in the at least 18 attacks on pro-life centers by the radical abortion group "Jane's Revenge," however.
Jane’s Revenge has claimed responsibility for at least 18 arson and vandalism attacks on crisis pregnancy centers and other faith-based organizations throughout the U.S. since the May 2022 leak of the Supreme Court draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade.
Fox News' Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
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