Trump DOJ settles with anti-abortion father Paul Vaughn over FBI raid
The Justice Department has settled with Paul Vaughn, a Tennessee-based anti-abortion activist and father of 11, whose prosecution and FBI arrest under the Biden administration became a rallying point for conservatives who accused the federal government of weaponizing the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. The Thomas More Society, which represented Vaughn, announced the […]
The Justice Department has settled with Paul Vaughn, a Tennessee-based anti-abortion activist and father of 11, whose prosecution and FBI arrest under the Biden administration became a rallying point for conservatives who accused the federal government of weaponizing the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.
The Thomas More Society, which represented Vaughn, announced the settlement on Tuesday. The unspecified seven-figure settlement, which resolves Vaughn’s claims against the federal government, arose from his prosecution over a 2021 protest at a Tennessee abortion facility during the heat of the Biden DOJ’s controversial use of the FACE Act.
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“My family has been through a traumatic ordeal that never should have happened,” Vaughn said in a statement. “But today brings an end to this portion of the story.”
Vaughn was among several defendants charged over a March 2021 blockade at a Nashville-area abortion clinic. A federal jury convicted him in 2024 of felony conspiracy against rights and a misdemeanor violation of the FACE Act.
The 1994 law prohibits using force, threats, or physical obstruction to interfere with people seeking or providing abortion. Vaughn faced more than a decade in prison before President Donald Trump pardoned him and 23 other anti-abortion activists in January last year while his case was on appeal.
Vaughn and his attorneys have maintained that his role was limited to serving as a messenger between police and demonstrators who were praying and singing hymns. Two days after he was charged, FBI agents arrested Vaughn at his Tennessee home in front of his wife and children, according to the Thomas More Society.
The legal group said the settlement reflects an acknowledgment that the Biden-era DOJ and FBI overreached in their handling of Vaughn’s case. The DOJ did not release a public statement on the agreement.
Vaughn thanked Trump for the pardon, the Thomas More Society, and the supporters who prayed for his family. He said his family would continue advocating “the most vulnerable among us without fear.”
Steve Crampton, senior counsel at the Thomas More Society, said Vaughn had been punished for peaceful religious expression.
“This family did nothing wrong. Paul prayed and sang,” Crampton said. “What was done to Paul and his family was a profound injustice, and we are grateful that this settlement acknowledges that.”
The agreement follows a similar seven-figure settlement between the Trump DOJ and Mark Houck, another prominent anti-abortion father and activist who sued over his 2022 arrest at his Pennsylvania home.
Houck was acquitted in 2023 of a FACE Act charge stemming from an altercation outside a Planned Parenthood facility. His arrest by armed FBI agents in front of his family fueled criticism from conservatives who said the Biden administration had selectively targeted anti-abortion activists. Local prosecutors had declined to press charges against Houck after learning the context of his case, including the fact that his child was present when an abortion clinic volunteer became aggressive toward protesters.
After Trump returned to office, the DOJ issued new guidance sharply limiting abortion-related FACE Act prosecutions and civil actions. Under the policy, such cases generally require “extraordinary circumstances” or significant aggravating factors, including death, serious bodily harm, or serious property damage.
The Biden DOJ brought FACE Act cases against dozens of anti-abortion activists after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
While the law has been used for years to prosecute threats, violence, and obstruction directed at abortion providers, the Trump administration has used the same statute in a 39-defendant case involving protesters who entered Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, earlier this year, with one notable defendant including former CNN anchor Don Lemon. All defendants have pleaded not guilty, and lawyers on behalf of 33 of them filed a joint motion in late June seeking the case’s dismissal.
Crampton said Vaughn’s settlement should serve as a warning against future use of federal law enforcement against people engaging in peaceful anti-abortion advocacy.
