Created by dipity on Apr 26, 2010
Last updated: 10/20/10 at 01:24 PM
Juan Antonio Gaona is accused of invading a Planned Parenthood clinic and blockading an interior door to prevent patients from entering, according to a news account in the San Antonio Express-News.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/feds_sue_abortion_opponent_from_sa_96627994.html?showFullArticle=y
No. 3:10 MJ-126-BF CR (District Court for the Northern District of Texas)
Summary: On April 1, 2010, the same day that Scott Roeder was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Dr. George Tiller, Lo entered the Office of the Clerk, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas-Plano Division and filed a motion for a Temporary Restraining Order, requesting that the District Court declare all abortions illegal and prevent any federal or Texas authority from interfering with his efforts to stop abortions. In the TRO, Lo threatened to use deadly force to stop abortions at a specifically identified clinic as a specific time. He also sent a copy of the pleading to the court clerk via Federal Express. On April 20, 2009, subject, Erlyndon J. Lo, was indicted for violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act and for making threats in interstate commerce.
http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/04/texas-man-arrested-after-filing-lawsuit-threatening-to-use-deadly-force-at-abortion-clinic.php
No. 1:10-cr-00006-RWS (District Court of Southern District of N.Y.)
Summary: On December 12, 2009, Richard R. Dugan and Theodore A. Puckett physically obstructed access to a Planned Parenthood facility in Manhattan. On January 4, 2010, they were charged by Information with one count of violating the FACE Act.
Dugan claims to be in training to become a Catholic priest in a Louisiana diocese.
The Dugan and Puckett were found guilty on Apr. 27, 2010.
http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/node/13345
No. 09-cr-00384-MSK (District Court of Colorado)
Summary: The defendant, Donald Hertz, a resident of Spokane, Wash., was indicted on charges that he intentionally used the threat of death to intimidate Dr. Warren Hern and his employees, because they were providing reproductive health services. The defendant called Dr. Hern's clinic in Boulder, Colorado. He told a receptionist that two men intended to drive to Boulder to kill members of Dr. Hern's family.
Hertz has been ordered to undergo a mental competency exam after twice agreeing to and then refusing plea agreements.
UPDATE 6/17/10: Hertz' lawyer, Dustin Deissner, was granted a petition to withdraw on grounds that the defendant is in need of more experienced trial counsel after twice refusing plea agreements and he has exhausted a pre-paid retainer and refuses to compensate the attorney for expenses related to the case. See RH Reality Check: http://bit.ly/916tZs
http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/node/13168
No. 09-3145 (District Court for the Eastern District of Penn.) Disposition: Injunction on website posting personal information and threats directed at reproductive health staff.
No. 2:2008-cr-04035 (District Court for the Western District of Missouri)
Summary: Alexis Keiser pled guilty to violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act for trespassing inside the Planned Parenthood of Missouri, physically damaging the clinic’s property and physically assaulting a staff member who attempted to restrain Keiser until police arrived.
Keiser is identified in news reports as a long-time clinic protester.
http://www.kmiz.com/news/story.php?id=11443&author=Jacqueline%20Lapine&category=Crime&franchise=&county=Boone&city=Columbia&partner=
No. 1:08cr144 (District Court of New Mexico)
Summary: Defendants Sergio Baca and Chad Altman pled guilty to conspiring to firebomb the Abortion Acceptance of New Mexico reproductive health care clinic. The clinic was destroyed. They were sentenced 6/10/09. Baca received 40 months. Altman received 46 months and the pair was ordered to pay $800,000 in restitution.
http://alibi.com/index.php?story=22036&scn=news&submit_user_comment=y
No. 07-3577 (District Court for the Eastern District of Penn.) Disposition: Permanent injunction from making threats or using other language in writing, orally or electronically with the intent to intimidate reproductive health staff. Dunkle corresponds with and posts letters from imprisoned anti-abortion militants on his blog.
No. 2:2007-cr-20014 (District Court of Kansas) Summary: Defendant Thomas Burke was charged with violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act for obstructed access to a Planned Parenthood clinic, by sitting down in the front entrance doorway and yelling at patients to stay away. Burke was deemed incompetent to stand trial. The government dismissed charges. Burke has been charged with multiple state and federal offenses against clinics since 1989.
No. 3:06-mj-01176-MCR (District Court for the Middle District of Florida) Summary: Defendant Richard Stewart Reese pled guilty to violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act for attempting to burn down a Planned Parenthood building because the facility was used to provide reproductive health services. Reese was sentenced to 14 months in prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release and he was ordered to perform 100 hours of community service.
No. 8:06-cr-00279-DKC-1 (District Court of Maryland)
Summary: One defendant pled guilty to violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act as well as firearms violations for planning to use a pipe bomb to blow up a reproductive health clinic. The defendant was sentenced to 60 months in prison.
An unrepentant letter purportedly from Weiler was featured on fellow FACE offender John Dunkle's website.
Weiler is scheduled to be released Nov. 7, 2010.
http://www.wusa9.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=50013
3:06-mj-00554-RAW CR (District Court for the Southern District of Iowa)
Summary: One defendant pled guilty to driving his car into a women’s clinic and then setting his car on fire. David McMenemy was sentenced to 60 months in prison and ordered to pay $263,000 restitution. McMenemy attacked the clinic was the mistaken belief that it provided abortion services.
http://qctimes.com/news/local/article_c93bf6e9-b149-571a-9b13-c5a2d5ba6d02.html
No. 8:06-cr-00165-LSC-FG3-1 CR (District Court of Nebraska) Summary: One defendant was acquitted of violating the Freedom of Access t Clinic Entrances Act. The defendant allegedly entered the Bellevue Health Clinic and leaned against the doorway and sat in front of the door making it difficult for employees and patients to enter the building. The defendant also screamed at patients telling them not to enter the clinic. Weslin is the founder of the Lambs of Christ and a leader within the network of militant anti-abortion groups.
No. 7:2006-cr-00186 (District Court for the Northern District of Alabama)
Summary: Defendant Dalton ray Skinner pled guilty to a FACE Act violation for intentionally driving his car into the West Alabama Women’s Center causing damage to the clinic. Skinner was sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay restitution totaling $6,098.05 to the West Alabama Women’s Center and the insurance company.
http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060120/NEWS/601200385/1007/NEWS02
No. 3:2005-mj-07116 (District Court for the Northern District of Ohio) Summary: Defendant Luis Patino, Jr., pled guilty to violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act for leaving a threatening message on the answering machine at the Center for Choice in Toledo. Patino was sentenced to two months home confinement and two years probation.
No. 4:2003-cr-00187 (District Court for the Northern District of Texas) Summary: Defendant David Glenn Ferguson pled guilty to violating one count of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. The defendant made threatening phone calls to the Planned Parenthood of Northern Texas, threatening to kill the CEO and his family. The defendant was sentenced to nine months in prison to be followed by one year probation.
No. H-03-0163 CR (District Court for the Southern District of Texas) Summary: The defendant was convicted on charges of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act after driving a van into the front entrance of the Planned Parenthood Clinic located in Houston. The defendant drove through the double doors which serve as the clinic’s entrance, damaged the building structure around the doors, and shattered the surrounding windows, resulting in approximately $7,000 in damages. The defendant was sentenced to 10 months in prison and ordered to pay $7,900 restitution. The defendant of this incident was convicted of a previous FACE offense for threatening an abortion provider in 1994.
No.1:2003-cr-00014 (District Court for the Western District of N.C.)
Summary: Brenda Kay Phillips entered a guilty plea to making threatening telephone calls to Femcare and The New Woman All Women Health Clinic and subsequently damaging the properties by firing a shot gun into the facility because it provided reproductive health services. The defendant was sentenced to 24 months in prison.
Phillips also claimed that she helped Olympic Park and clinic bombing suspect and FBI most wanted fugitive Eric Rudolph elude police. He was later captured and sentenced to life in prison.
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2003-07-06/news/0307060288_1_phillips-rudolph-asheville
No. 2:2002-cr-00582 (District Court for the Eastern District of Penn.)
Waagner was convicted on charges of violating 51 counts including the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act as well as other federal charges after mailing, via the United States Postal Service and Federal Express, several hundred letters threatening to contain anthrax to reproductive health care providers across the country.
Waagner is a known member of the Army of God.
He was sentenced to 19 years in prison. He is eligible for release on Jan. 27, 2046.
http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2003/12/10/waagner/
No. 4:02-cr-00109-HLJ-1 (District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas) Defendant Alexander MacDonald pled guilty to one FACE charge for shooting an AK-47 into the Little Rock Family Planning Services reproductive health care facility. The clinic was empty at the time, but the gunfire caused thousands of dollars worth of damage to the bullet resistant windows and front door of the facility. MacDonald was sentenced to five years probation with special conditions that he receive mental health counseling and drug testing/treatment. He was also ordered to pay $4,592 restitution.
No. 01-CR-060A (District Court for the Western District of N.Y.)
Defendants Dennis Malvasi and his wife, Loretta Marra, pled guilty to conspiring to obstruct justice by harboring FBI fugitive James Kopp and assisting him in avoiding prosecution. Marra and Malvasi were sentenced to time served amounting to 29 months in prison. Defendant Kopp was sentenced to life plus 10 years in prison.
Malvasi was previously sentenced for a series of four New York City clinic bombings from 1984-85 and served five years in state prison. More: http://nyti.ms/cZ9e5H
http://nymag.com/news/features/51835/index2.html
No. 1:2001-cr-00158 (District Court of New Jersey) Summary: Nicholas Morency pled guilty to one FACE charge as well as one count of possession of child pornography. The defendant posted an internet sign offering a $1.5 million bounty to anyone who killed an abortion provider. The defendant was sentenced to 30 months in prison to be followed by three years supervised release.
No. 00CR0189 (District Court for the Western District of N.Y.)
Convicted of FACE Act violation and a state second degree murder charge in the death of Dr. Barnett Slepian. Kopp was sentenced to life in prison plus 10 years. He was long associated with both the Lambs of Christ and Army of God militant groups.
http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/k/james_c_kopp/index.html
No. 1:2000-cr-00119 (District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi) Summary: Defendant Kevin Lewis Reece pled guilty to one FACE charge for placing a threatening call to the New Women Medical Clinic in Jackson, Mississippi. The defendant was sentenced to six months home confinement to be followed by three years supervised release. He was also ordered to undergo anger management and mental health counseling.
No. 2:1999-cr-00557 (District Court of Utah) Summary: Defendant William George Emmet, Jr., pled guilty to one FACE Act violation for allegedly calling the Utah Women’s Clinic on August 25, 1999, and threatening a clinic employee with death if clinic personnel terminated his wife’s pregnancy. The defendant’s wife did have an appointment for services on that day. Emmett was sentenced to one year probation.
No. 1:1999-cr-00058 (District Court for the Northern District of Florida) Summary: Defendant John Stephen Kelly pled guilty to sending a threatening e-mail messages to reproductive health care providers in Georgia and New York. The defendant was sentenced to 16 months in prison.
No. 1:1999-cr-00566 (District Court of New Mexico) (4/18/01 Superseding Indictment) Summary: Defendant Ricky Lee McDonald was convicted of an arson charge for setting fire to the Planned Parenthood Clinic in Albuquerque. A hung jury was declared on an additional arson charge as well as a FACE Act violation. Defendant subsequently entered guilty pleas to these charges and was sentenced to five years in prison.
No. 4:1999-cr-40061 (District Court for South Dakota)
Summary: Martin Uphoff was convicted of arson and a FACE Act violation in connection with the March 29, 1999, arson at the Planned Parenthood of Minnesota/South Dakota in Sioux Falls. The defendant was sentenced to 60 months in prison.
Uphoff reportedly stabbed himself Apr. 4, 2010 on an Omaha running trail and was found critically injured by passersby.
http://openjurist.org/232/f3d/624
No. 99-10 CR (District Court of North Dakota)
Summary: Defendant Randal Hanson was convicted of attempting to set fire to the Fargo Women’s Health Organization, Inc., by depositing a flammable liquid into the clinic through a broken window and attempting to ignite that liquid. The defendant was sentenced to 60 months in prison. Conviction reversed on appeal.
http://openjurist.org/237/f3d/961/united-states-of-america-v-randal-a-hanson
No. 1:1998-cr-00302 (District Court for the Middle District of Penn.) Summary: Defendant Douglas Mahady pled guilty to one FACE Act violation for telephonically contacting the Planned Parenthood of Central Pennsylvania and relaying threatening messages on November 14, 1998. The defendant was sentenced to one month imprisonment and a term of supervised release.
No 98-2319-JWL CR (District Court of Kansas) Summary: The defendant pled guilty to one FACE Act violation for blocking access to an abortion clinic in Kansas City on August 1, 1998. The defendant was sentenced to six months in prison.
No. 98-2319-JWL (District Court of Kansas) Disposition: Preliminary injunction prohibiting intimidation, interference, obstruction, threatening or harassing people entering or leaving the Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood clinic.
No. 4:98 CR 00132-001 (District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas) Summary: The defendant was convicted of two FACE Act violations for abandoning two Ryder trucks in front of the Little Rock Family Planning Services and Women’s Community Health Center clinics on September 25, 1997, in a manner as to communicate a credible bomb threat to the clinics’ staff. Each truck obstructed vehicular access to the respective clinic’s parking areas. Consequently, several businesses and residences near the clinic locations were evacuated for several hours while bomb and arson experts investigated the trucks. The defendant was sentenced to one year home confinement to be followed by three years supervised release.
No. 98-1446 (District Court of the District of Columbia)
Co-defendants: Olivia A. Alaw, Mark H. Gabriel, Howard S. Heldreth, and Patrick J. Mahoney.
Summary: Injunction to prevent future blockades at Capitol Women's Center and order a 25-foot buffer zone around any reproductive health clinic located within the I-495 D.C.-metro area.
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=DC&navby=case&no=025103A
No. 5:98cr40 CR (District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma) Summary: Defendant pled guilty to entering the Outpatient Services for Women clinic in Warr Acres, Oklahoma, on January 24, 1998, and attacking the clinic’s only doctor, Dr. Naresh Patel, by striking him with his fists and kicking him. Prior to entering the clinic, the defendant had been protesting outside the building. The defendant pled guilty to one FACE Act violation. Defendant was sentenced to three months in prison to be followed by three years supervised release with a special condition of 90 days home detention and he was ordered to pay $700 restitution for medical expenses of the victim.
No. C-98-113 (District Court for the Southern District of Ohio) Co-defendants: Philip "Flip" Benham, Rusty Thomas, James Anderson, Olivia Alaw, Heather Mechanic and David Mehaffie
Nos: 97-1348, 97-1349, 97-1350, 97-1352, 97-1353, 97-1354, 97-1355, 97-1356, 97-1357, 97-1358, 97-1359, 97-1653 CR (District Court for the Western District of N.Y.)
Co-Defendants: NORMAN WESLIN, DWIGHT MONAGAN, BARTON CHAMBERLIN, ARNOLD MATHESON, JOHN BLANCHARD, MICHAEL ILLUZZI, KAREN JACKSON, DANIEL LAMONTAIN-LEATHERMAN, ROBERT RACO, RANDOLPH SMITH, and RENE RIDDLE
Summary: Eleven defendants were convicted under FACE with blocking three entrances to the Planned Parenthood of Rochester and Genesee Valley, Inc., on December 7, 1996. The entrances were blocked by people attached to a disabled vehicle, people chained together, a person chained to an up-ended picnic table and a person glued to a facility door. Two of the eleven defendants were sentenced to four months in prison and two other defendants were sentenced to two months in prison. The remaining seven defendants were sentenced to time served (three days in local jail), four months supervised release and 120 hours of community service. All defendants were ordered to pay $105 restitution for the damage to the clinic doors. Appeal filed.
Weslin is the founder of the Lambs of Christ and a leader within the network of militant anti-abortion groups.
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=search&case=/data2/circs/2nd/971348v2.html
No. 97cv2020 (JCL) (District Court of New Jersey)
Co-defendants: RUBY C. McDANIEL, LUIS MENCHACA, FRANCIS S. PAGNANELLI, WILLIAM CHARLES RAISER, MICHAEL HENRY, ROSE KIDD, ARNOLD MATHESON, KATHARINE O'KEEFE, EVA ALVARADO, JOSEPH F. O'HARA, JOSEPH ROACH, ROBERT RUDNICK, JAMES SODERNA, JAMES SWEATT, ELIZABETH WAGI, BYRON ADAMS, KEVIN BLAKE, AMY BOISSONNEAULT, BALDO DINO, STEPHEN C. ELLIOT, SHERYL FITZPATRICK, MARY FOLEY, DENNIS GREEN, GEORGE LYNCH, RAYMOND MICCO, ALEXIS MULRENAN, RALPH TRAPHAGEN, JAMES TROTT, KIMIKO TROTT
The defendants were charged with blockading the Englewood, NJ, clinic Metropolitan Medical Associations from Aug. 1996 to March 1997 in violation of the FACE Act.
Disposition: Permanent injunction and $5,000 fine.
Several of the defendants (Gregg, McDaniel, Pagnanelli, O'Hara, Raiser, Boissonneault, Roach and Menchaca) have multiple FACE Act convictions and known links to extremist groups Operation Rescue, the Lambs of Christ and Army of God.
http://www.justice.gov/crt/briefs/gregg.htm
No. 3-97CV1423-R (District Court for the Northern District of Texas)
No. 2:97-cr-00288-LKK-1 (District Court for the Eastern District of California) Summary: Defendant Richard Thomas Andrews pled guilty to setting fires at a clinic in Redding on June 6, 1992 and October 9, 1994 and at another clinic in Chico on the same date in 1994. The defendant was sentenced to 81 months in prison to be followed by three years supervised release with the condition that he remain 150 yards from clinics. In addition, he was ordered to pay $3,600 restitution divided into nominal amounts for each clinic. Defendant was originally charged with FACE violation but pled to arson violations only
No. 96 Civ. 9202 (JES) (District Court for the Southern District of N.Y.)
Co-defendants: Ruby McDaniel, Francis Pagnanelli, Joseph O'Hara, Joseph Gregg, James McWilliams, William Conlon, Edward Gerlach, Charles Radich, Otto Buchta and William Raiser.
Court ordered permanent injunction of defendants from obstructing Eastern Women's Clinic in New York City. Some defendants were assessed civil penalties ranging from $1,000 to $6,000 individually.
Several of the defendants (Gregg, McDaniel, Pagnanelli, O'Hara and Raiser) joined with known members of the Lambs of Christ and Army of God were charged with 1999 FACE Act violations (U.S. v Gregg) at a Englewood, NJ clinic. See: http://www.justice.gov/crt/briefs/gregg.htm
http://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/12/nyregion/7-fined-for-blocking-abortion-clinic-access.html?pagewanted=1
No. 96-5341 (District Court for the Eastern District of Penn.) Co-defendants: JOSEPH ROACH, ROBERT LEWIS, LINDA BECKMAN, KEVIN M. BLAKE, AMY BOISSONNEAULT, ROBERT CASSIDY, ROBERT CAVANAUGH, THERESA CLARK, MICHAEL J. COLLINS, SHERYL FITZPATRICK, EDWARD J. GERLACH, DENNIS GREEN, CHARLES R. HADDON, JR., SUSAN LANGAN, DAVID J. LYTLE, NANCY T. MAJOR, JOHN MCCARTHY, JOHN E. MCCORMICK, JAMES OWEN PATRICK MCWILLIAMS, STEPHEN MILLER, JOSEPH F. O'HARA, KATHARINE O'KEEFE, FRANCO S. PAGANANELLI, CHARLES RABICH, WILLIAM CHARLES RAISER, GENE ROOK, EILLEN SITER, ELIZABETH SNOW, JOHN ROBERT SOLLESNES, PRISCILLA A. TAYLOR, JAMES M. TROTT, KAY TRUDELL, HOWARD WALTON, CATHERINE WOMACK, MARY ANN YORINA Disposition: Permanent injunction
No. 2:96-cr-00189-JPS-1 (District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin) 11/19/96 Superseding Indictment Co-Defendants: George L. Wilson and Colin L. Hudson. Summary: Two defendants were convicted on April 28, 1997, under FACE with positioning themselves inside vehicles and blocking the front and rear entrances to the Wisconsin Women's Health Care Center on September 20, 1996. This was the second obstruction at the same clinic, see United States v. Wilson, et al. Defendant Hudson was sentenced to 24 months in prison while defendant Wilson was sentenced to four months. Each defendant must serve three years supervised release following incarceration and was fined $3,000 and ordered to pay $455 restitution to the City of Milwaukee. Wilson and Hudson are nnown members of the militant group the Lambs of Christ.
No. 96 Civ. 5305 (SS) (District Court for the Southern District of N.Y.) Co-defendants: John Cain and Luis Menchaca.
No. 4:1996-cr-40019 (District Court of Mass.) Summary: Defendant Terrance McManus pled guilty to two counts of FACE and two counts of 844(e), bomb threat, for making threatening telephone calls on May 21, 1996, to the Planned Parenthood in Worcester and to the Repro Associates in Brookline. On March 24, 1997, the defendant was sentenced to 27 months and two years supervised released.
No. 95 Civ. 9223 (JES) (District Court for the Southern District of N.Y.) Defendants George Lynch and Christopher Moscinski were found guilty of civil contempt for violating permanent injunction against blockading the Women's Medical Pavillion in Dobbs Ferry, NY. The court rejected plaintiff's request for a $5,000 fine. An appellate court found Lynch and Moscinski not guilty of criminal contempt charge for violating the injunction. Lynch and Moscinski are believed to be members of the extremist group, the Lambs of Christ.
No. 4:95-cr-00017-JHM-1 (District Court of the Western District of Kentucky) Summary: Defendant Jennifer Lee Embry pled guilty to telephoning a bomb threat to a Women's Choice Clinic in Indianapolis on January 4, 1995, in violation of the FACE Act. Defendant was sentenced to two years probation and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service. Embry's probation was revoked on May 26, 1998 and sentenced to one month in jail, five months of home detention and one year of federal probation.
No. 3:95-CV-633WS (District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi) (includes 1999 and 2008 civil contempt motions) Disposition: Preliminary injunction
Nos. 95-CR-168 / 99-CV-623 (District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin)
Summary: Defendant indicted for soliciting another person in June of 1995, to violate the FACE Act with the intent of death resulting, in violation of Section 373. Defendant, who had previously robbed an armored car (for which he was also indicted), solicited another to assist him in killing abortion providers and burning clinics. Defendant sentenced on March 22, 1996, to 176 months in prison for conviction for bank robbery, money laundering and solicitation to violate FACE, section 373. The Seventh Circuit affirmed the conviction on December 5, 1996.
http://articles.latimes.com/1995-08-25/news/mn-38768_1_abortion-clinic
No. 95-0010-CV-W-8 (District Court for the Western District of Missouri) Charged with criminal contempt violation of injunction. Disposition: Probation.

