Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody announced a significant victory in the case of Moody v. Freestone, involving activists who threatened and vandalized crisis pregnancy centers in Florida.
In March 2023, Attorney General Moody initiated a civil action against the defendants for their acts of vandalism and intimidation directed at multiple centers across the state.
The legal action and subsequent settlement have led to several defendants pleading guilty to felonies in federal court. These individuals will also be permanently banned from coming within 100 feet of crisis pregnancy centers and will be ordered to pay restitution.
“We will not allow radicals to threaten and intimidate women seeking help from crisis pregnancy centers or the counselors and healthcare professionals serving these women and their babies,” said Attorney General Ashley Moody. “In Florida, illegal actions have consequences, and I am proud of the work our attorneys did in this case to make sure these extremists were held accountable.”
The defendants, reacting to the leaked U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, vandalized at least three pregnancy centers in Florida. They spray-painted threatening messages, including “If abortions aren’t safe, neither are you,” on the centers’ properties.
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The Florida Attorney General’s Office filed a civil action against Caleb Freestone, Amber Marie Smith-Stewart, Annarella Rivera, and Gabriella Victoria Oropesa for violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE Act). The FACE Act imposes civil and criminal penalties against any person who “by force or threat of force…intentionally…intimidates or interferes with or attempts to…intimidate or interfere with any person because that person is or has been…providing reproductive health services.”
The settlement secured by the Florida Attorney General’s Office results in a civil judgment and a permanent injunction against the defendants.
Restitution will be ordered to compensate the victimized clinics, with one defendant being ordered to pay a $10,000 civil penalty. Those who pleaded guilty face up to 10 years in prison.
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