Trump using FACE Act to go after people who threatened synagogue

By Michael Gryboski, Editor Monday, September 29, 2025The Department of Justice building in Washington, D.C., on February 9, 2022. | STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty ImagesThe Trump administration is using a federal law traditionally used to prosecute people who obstruct or threaten abortion clinics to take legal action against organizations that targeted a New Jersey synagogue during a violent protest last fall. The U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday that it is filing a civil complaint under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act against a group of defendants who threatened the Congregation Ohr Torah synagogue of West Orange during a November 2024 protest.  The incident in question happened on Nov. 13, with the lawsuit calling it a “coordinated effort to intimidate and disrupt Jewish worshipers at a religious event held at the synagogue Congregation Ohr Torah.””The event, originally scheduled at the home of Dr. Moshe Glick, a well-respected healthcare professional, in a room designated for communal prayer and study, was relocated to the synagogue due to credible threats of violence from certain Defendants.”At the church, the complaint accuses protesters of physically assaulting worshipers and shouting antisemitic and threatening chants. “No American should be harassed, targeted, or discriminated against for peacefully practicing their religion,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi in a statement. “Today’s lawsuit underscores this Department of Justice’s commitment to defending Jewish Americans — and all Americans of faith — from those who would threaten their right to worship.”The complaint was filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, and names the New Jersey chapter of the national Party for Socialism and Liberation, the New Jersey chapter of American Muslims for Palestine and other individuals who allegedly threatened or violently protested the synagogue and its members as defendants.The FACE Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1994 in response to a reported increase in violence against abortion providers. Among other things, the law protects the right of people to freely exercise religious beliefs at houses of worship. “The FACE Act prohibits the use of force, threats of force, or physical obstruction to intentionally injure, intimidate, or interfere with any person lawfully exercising or seeking to exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship,” stated the complaint.”In bringing this action, the United States alleges that Defendants have committed, and are likely to continue to commit, violations of the FACE Act and that persons lawfully exercising or seeking to exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship are being, have been, and will continue to be injured, intimidated, and/or interfered with by the Defendants’ conduct.”The FACE Act has garnered criticism, with many conservative activists and Republican officials claiming that the measure unfairly targets peaceful pro-life demonstrators.Republican Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey, the co-chair of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, stated in 2023 that he believes the FACE Act gave “harsh, mean-spirited punishments when pro-life individuals engage in acts of nonviolent civil disobedience — the staple of the human rights and civil rights movements.””Under the FACE Act, peaceful actions like holding a sign, singing a hymn, or praying the Rosary, if conducted near an abortion mill, can result in jail sentences, massive fines and punitive damages by the party that feels it has been offended,” Smith said at the time.Proponents of the measure, among them the National Abortion Federation, believe that the FACE Act not only protects abortion facilities but also allows activists to demonstrate peacefully.”FACE protects protesters’ First Amendment right to free speech,” claimed NAF in a position paper. “Clinic protesters remain free to conduct peaceful protest, including singing hymns, praying, carrying signs, walking picket lines and distributing anti-abortion materials outside of clinics.”In January, shortly after taking office, Trump pardoned several pro-life activists whom the Biden administration had prosecuted under the FACE Act.”They should not have been prosecuted,” Trump said as he signed the pardons. “Many of them are elderly people. They should not have been prosecuted. This is a great honor to sign this.”Follow Michael Gryboski on Twitter or Facebook