 |
| Mark Houck with his wife and seven children image provided by the Thomas More Society |
Federal agents arrested Houck at his Pennsylvania home in September of 2022. The charges stem from an altercation between Houck and a Planned Parenthood patient escort in 2021.
While Houck was offering support as a sidewalk counselor, the escort repeatedly harassed Houck's 12-year-old son. Houck retaliated by pushing the escort away. A civil case filed against Houck was thrown out of court after the escort failed to show up for court dates.
If Houck was found guilty of the federal charges pressed by the Biden administration, he would have faced 11 years in prison and a fine of $350,000. Houck was represented in court by the Thomas More Society.
“We are, of course, thrilled with the outcome,” Peter Breen, Thomas More Society Executive Vice President & Head of Litigation, said in a statement. “Mark and his family are now free of the cloud that the Biden administration threw upon them. We took on Goliath – the full might of the United States government – and won. The jury saw through and rejected the prosecution’s discriminatory case, which was harassment from day one. This is a win for Mark and the entire pro-life movement. The Biden Department of Justice’s intimidation against pro-life people and people of faith has been put in its place.”
