The U.S. Department of Justice released an 882-page report on Tuesday, accusing the Biden administration of uneven enforcement of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances, or FACE, Act, including a failure to pursue cases involving attacks on houses of worship.
The report, based on a review of roughly 700,000 internal records, alleges that senior Justice Department officials under former U.S. President Joe Biden “provided extensive support to abortion clinics” while downplaying or declining to prosecute vandalism and attacks targeting pregnancy resource centers and religious institutions.
Enacted in 1994, the FACE Act prohibits threats, force and obstruction intended to interfere with access to reproductive health services and also applies to places of religious worship. The report states that despite rising threats against religious institutions, the department under Biden did not bring any FACE Act prosecutions involving houses of worship.
It further alleges disparities in enforcement, saying prosecutors sought average sentences of 26.8 months for anti-abortion defendants compared with 12.3 months for abortion-rights defendants.
Looking ahead, the Justice Department said it will pursue cases “when the facts and law support civil or criminal action,” including those involving threats or obstruction targeting pregnancy resource centers and houses of worship.
The report highlights a 2025 federal case in California, Pollak v. Codepink Women for Peace, in which the department filed a statement of interest supporting claims that demonstrators blocked access to the Adas Torah Synagogue in Los Angeles. Federal officials stated that the alleged conduct—including obstruction, intimidation and violence against congregants—would fall within the FACE Act’s prohibitions if proven.
It cites a case in February 2025 involving a synagogue in which the Civil Rights Division under U.S. President Donald Trump “filed a statement of interest supporting the plaintiff in Pollak v. Codepink Women for Peace.”
According to court filings, protesters allegedly blocked entrances, trapped congregants inside and used bear spray against individuals attempting to enter or leave the synagogue. The department “argued that the plain language of the FACE Act prohibits these kinds of physical obstructions at places of worship,” per the report.
In announcing the report, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the department would not tolerate “a two-tiered system of justice.”
“No department should conduct selective prosecution based on beliefs,” Blanche stated. “The weaponization that happened under the Biden administration will not happen again, as we restore integrity to our prosecutorial system.”
