Monthly Archives: January 2023

Pennsylvania jury acquits pro-life activist Mark Houck on charges of obstructing abortion clinic access

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By Louis Casiano | Fox News

A jury has reportedly acquitted Pennsylvania pro-life activist who was accused of allegedly pushing a Planned Parenthood escort during a clash outside an abortion clinic, Life News reported.

Mark Houck, 48, faced charges that he violated the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which makes it a federal crime to use force with the intent to injure, intimidate and interfere with anyone because that person produces reproductive health care. He pleaded not guilty. 

The charge stems from an Oct. 13, 2021 incident in which the Biden Administration alleged Houck assaulted and “forcefully shoved” Bruce Love, a 72-year-old volunteer at a Philadelphia Planned Parenthood.

Photo of pro-life Pennsylvania man Mark Houck with his family. Houck was found not guilty by a Pennsylvania jury of violating a federal abortion interference law. (Thomas More Society)

Houck was arrested in his home by multiple FBI agents in September 2022.

U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, celebrated the news of Houck’s acquittal with a tweet. 

“Good. Begs question of the $48 billion we give to DOJ…,” he wrote. 

Shortly after Houck’s arrest last fall, his attorney Peter Breen told Fox News Digital that his client’s arrest was an “outrageous abuse of power” from the Department of Justice that was intended to intimidate pro-life Americans.

“The message from the Biden Department of Justice is pure intimidation against pro-life people and people of faith,” said Breen, senior counsel of the Thomas More Society. “Why in the world would you send this phalanx of officers heavily armed to this family’s home, violate the sanctity of their home, frighten their children? Why would you do that, other than just to send a message?  (Continue Reading)

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Pennsylvania jury acquits pro-life activist Mark Houck on charges of obstructing abortion clinic access 

Ex-Colorado social worker ordered to pay councilwoman millions after allegedly filing false child abuse report

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The $3 million judgment against Robin Niceta should ‘send a message’ that her type of misconduct ‘should not be tolerated,’ said the judge

By Emma Colton

Booking photo of former Colorado social worker Robin Niceta. (Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office)

A Colorado judge ordered a disgraced social worker to pay $3 million in damages to an Aurora city councilwoman in a defamation case based on a false child abuse report leveled against the city leader.

“This award is made, in part, ‘to send a message that this kind of conduct cannot and should not be tolerated by anybody,'” Arapahoe County Judge Elizabeth Beebe Volz wrote in her order, which was obtained by Fox News Digital.

Former Arapahoe County social worker Robin Niceta was arrested in May of last year and charged with a felony count of suspicion of attempting to influence a public servant and a misdemeanor count of making a false report about child abuse. The report claimed that Aurora Councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky inappropriately touched her own toddler.

The tip was made on Jan. 28, one day after Jurinsky went on a radio show to speak out against then-Aurora Police Chief Vanessa Wilson. She described the city’s top police officer as “trash” who needed to be ousted over allegedly throwing “police officers under the bus,” overseeing the city facing mounting shootings, as well as police staffing shortages.

What Jurinsky did not know during the interview was that the police chief was dating Niceta at the time. Wilson was ultimately fired as Aurora’s police chief over unrelated matters to Niceta, and told Fox News Digital last year that the couple is no longer together, and she wants “nothing to do with [Niceta].”

An investigation was launched after Niceta allegedly filed the anonymous tip, which ultimately cleared Jurinsky of any wrongdoing, but left the councilwoman in a fearful limbo for two weeks that she might lose custody of her son.  (Continue Reading)

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Ex-Colorado social worker ordered to pay councilwoman millions after allegedly filing false child abuse report

Byron Donalds’ wife decries ‘racist attacks’ from the left: ‘Cry harder, haters’

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By Houston Keene

Florida Republican Rep. Byron Donalds’ wife decried the “racist attacks” she and her husband endure from the left, telling the “haters” to “cry harder.”

Erika Donalds, who is White, tweeted screenshots of online users attacking her over her skin color on Wednesday, pushing back on the racially-motivated online attacks over her marriage to a Black Republican lawmaker.

“Byron and I have been together for 23+ years, and the most racist attacks we experience are always from the left,” she wrote.

“They can’t accept that a free thinking black man achieves success on his own merits, and they sure as heck can’t stand that he’s married to me!” Donalds continued. “Cry harder, haters.” (Continue Reading)

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Byron Donalds’ wife decries ‘racist attacks’ from the left: ‘Cry harder, haters’

House passes new rules for Congress as McCarthy clears first major test as House speaker

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By Brianna Herlihy

The House of Representatives passed a new rules package Monday that overhauls the way it functions by putting up more barriers to congressional spending and creating a more deliberate process for passing legislation, key demands of the more conservative members of the Republican Party.

The rules passed with an 220 to 213 vote that saw just one Republican, Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas, vote against it. Passage of the blueprint for how the GOP will run the House is the first sign of success for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy after the fight of his life last week for the speaker’s gavel.

Changes to the rules package were negotiated up through the 11th hour as part of a deal to earn McCarthy the votes for the speaker. Pushing for those changes were Roy, Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., and freshman congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., who said last week at the Capitol the changes will be “transformational, and it will outlast every person in this room.”

Among other things, rules include the end of Pelosi-era proxy voting and requires members to vote in person from the House floor.

The newly-adopted rules also include a provision that allows House Freedom Caucus members to receive three of the nine seats on the House Rules Committee, which dictates the terms of how bills are brought to the floor and how they can be amended.

The package also includes a return to a “Cut-As-You-Go” policy that says legislation cannot be considered if it increases mandatory spending over a 5- or 10-year period. This “CUTGO” policy requires bills that call for new spending to find offsetting spending cuts elsewhere in the federal budget – an ambitious new curb on federal spending, part of the GOP’s effort to stop piling on trillions of dollars in new debt each year. (Continue reading)

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House passes new rules for Congress as McCarthy clears first major test as House speaker