Judge bars 'vigilante' defenses ahead of anti-abortion activists' trial

Anti-abortion activist Lauren Handy and nine co-defendants face two felony counts for blockading a D.C. clinic in 2020.

Author: Jordan Fischer
Published: 7:56 PM EDT August 7, 2023
Updated: 7:56 PM EDT August 7, 2023

WASHINGTON — In a short order filed Monday, a federal judge barred a group of anti-abortion activists from claiming they were acting in defense of another person when their trial for blockading a D.C. clinic begins this week.

U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly wrote in a three-page order that there were few legal grounds for her to even consider a request by anti-abortion activists Lauren Handy and Heather Idoni to argue they were acting out of necessity or in defense of another when they used ropes and chains to block the entrance of a D.C. reproductive services clinic in October 2020. Handy, Idoni and three other defendants are scheduled to begin a jury trial Wednesday on two federal felony counts of conspiracy against rights and violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.

Attorneys for the pair had requested jury instructions that would have allowed them to argue their actions were the lesser of two evils or, in Handy’s case, motivated by her sincere belief the clinic was committing murder. The Justice Department opposed, saying both defenses were had been barred in similar cases around the country by multiple other circuits. On Monday, Kollar-Kotelly agreed – saying the arguments were so clearly inadmissible her conclusion “merits little discussion.”

“A defendant may not don a vigilante’s hood to insert themselves into a situation of their own making and subsequently claim defense of a third person to justify their actions,” Kollar-Kotelly wrote.

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