Current:Home > Stocks7 convicted of blocking access to abortion clinic in suburban Detroit-LoTradeCoin
7 convicted of blocking access to abortion clinic in suburban Detroit
View Date:2024-12-23 20:54:40
STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. (AP) — Seven anti-abortion activists have been convicted of crimes related to blocking a clinic in suburban Detroit in 2020.
“These defendants are entitled to their views, but they are not entitled to prevent others from exercising the rights secured to them by the laws of the United States,” U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison said.
The seven sat or stood in front of the entrance to a clinic in Sterling Heights so that patients and employees could not enter, the government said.
They interfered with a couple seeking to keep an appointment to end a pregnancy after learning that a 14-week-old fetus would not survive, the government said.
After a trial in federal court, the seven were found guilty Tuesday of conspiracy against rights and a second charge related to blocking clinic access. Two of the seven were also convicted of a separate access charge at a clinic in Saginaw.
U.S. District Judge Matthew Leitman said he would consider in the months ahead a request to dismiss the conspiracy charge. Defense lawyers said it’s based on a 1870 federal law intended to stop the Ku Klux Klan from violating the rights of Blacks.
“The Department of Justice’s novel strategy to inflict maximize pain upon peaceful pro-lifers by adding a charge ... cannot be squared with the law and we stand ready to make that case,” attorney Steve Crampton said.
veryGood! (93682)
Related
- Taylor Swift Becomes Auntie Tay In Sweet Photo With Fellow Chiefs WAG Chariah Gordon's Daughter
- Woman returns Costco couch after 2 years, tests limits of return policy: I just didn't like it anymore
- News website The Messenger shuts down after 8 months. See more 2024 media layoffs.
- Starting five: Cameron Brink, Stanford host UCLA in biggest women's game of the weekend
- Louisiana mom arrested for making false kidnapping report after 'disagreement' with son
- Penn Museum reburies the bones of 19 Black Philadelphians, causing a dispute with community members
- Adrian Beltré to have Rangers logo on baseball Hall of Fame plaque. No team emblem for Jim Leyland
- Quaker Oats recall expanded, granola bar added: See the updated recall list
- Advocates Expect Maryland to Drive Climate Action When Trump Returns to Washington
- Adrian Beltré to have Rangers logo on baseball Hall of Fame plaque. No team emblem for Jim Leyland
Ranking
- Michelle Obama Is Diving Back into the Dating World—But It’s Not What You Think
- Caitlin Clark is the face of women’s basketball. Will she be on the 2024 Olympic team?
- What Jersey Shore's Snooki Would Change About the Infamous Letter to Sammi Today
- Wendy Williams Bombshell Documentary Details Her Struggle With Alcohol, Money & More
- Threat closes Spokane City Hall and cancels council meeting in Washington state
- This week on Sunday Morning (February 4)
- Q&A: What an Author’s Trip to the Antarctic Taught Her About Climate—and Collective Action
- Canadian man buys winning $1 million scratch-off ticket same day his 2nd child was born
Recommendation
-
Caitlin Clark has one goal for her LPGA pro-am debut: Don't hit anyone with a golf ball
-
Prosecutors in classified files case say Trump team’s version of events ‘inaccurate and distorted’
-
You've Been Saying Timothée Chalamet's Name Wrong—But He Doesn't Mind, Really
-
Australian police share video of officers rescuing 3-year-old boy who got stuck in a claw machine
-
AI could help scale humanitarian responses. But it could also have big downsides
-
Joshua Schulte, who sent CIA secrets to WikiLeaks, sentenced to 40 years in prison
-
Lawsuit says Tennessee hospital shouldn’t have discharged woman who died, police should have helped
-
Jim Harbaugh introduced as Chargers head coach: Five takeaways from press conference