Jan. 31 (UPI) — Six anti-abortion activists have been convicted on felony charges over orchestrating a blockade of a Tennessee reproductive healthcare clinic in 2021.
A federal jury convicted each of the six defendants of a felony conspiracy against rights and a Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act offense. Sentencing has been scheduled for July 2, when they each face up to 10 and a half years’ imprisonment, three years’ supervised release and fines totally $260,000.
“These defendants are being held accountable for unlawfully obstructing access to reproductive health services,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement .
The defendants — Chester Gallagher, Heather Idoni, Calvin Zastrow, Coleman Boyd, Paul Vaughn and Dennis Green — were indicted in October 2022 along with five others for their involvement in the March 5, 2021, blockade of the Carafem Health Center in Mt. Juliet, Tenn., which is a suburb of Nashville.