Anti-abortion activist who led a clinic blockade is sentenced to nearly 5 years in prison
An anti-abortion activist who led others on an invasion and blockade of a reproductive health clinic in the nation’s capital has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison
WASHINGTON — An anti-abortion activist who led others on an invasion and blockade of a reproductive health clinic in the nation's capital was sentenced on Tuesday to nearly five years in prison.
Lauren Handy, 30, was among several people convicted of federal civil rights offenses for blockading access to the Washington Surgi-Clinic on Oct. 22, 2020. Police found five fetuses at Handy's home in Washington after she was indicted.
A clinic nurse sprained her ankle when one of Handy's co-defendants forced his way into the clinic and pushed her. Another co-defendant accosted a woman who was having labor pains, preventing her from getting off a floor and entering the clinic, prosecutors said.
Inside the clinic's waiting room, Handy directed blockaders to link themselves together with locks and chains and block the doors. A co-defendant used social media to livestream the blockade, which lasted several hours before police arrested the participants.
Handy declined to address the court before U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly sentenced her to four years and nine months in prison.
Handy's supporters applauded as she was led out of the courtroom. “You're a hero, Lauren!” one of them shouted.
The judge told Handy that she was being punished for her actions, not her beliefs.
“The law does not protect violent nor obstructive conduct, nor should it,” Kollar-Kotelly said.
Prosecutors recommended a prison sentence of roughly six years for Handy. They described her as an anti-abortion extremist who was a «criminal mastermind» behind the Washington invasion
Read more on abcnews.go.com
