# Mark Houck Catholic pro-life activist who became a cause célèbre on the right after the FBI arrested him at his Pennsylvania home in September 2022 — with agents arriving in force, guns drawn, in front of his wife and seven children — on charges of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act for allegedly shoving a Planned Parenthood clinic escort. Houck was acquitted at trial in January 2023. The Houck case became a focal point for the right's narrative that the Biden-era DOJ was weaponizing federal law enforcement against political and religious opponents. The dramatic arrest, the relatively minor underlying allegation, and the acquittal collectively supplied the imagery the political prosecution narrative needed: a Catholic father, an early-morning FBI raid, a quick acquittal suggesting the charges should never have been brought. Whether the arrest was standard procedure or prosecutorial overreach depends entirely on which side's framing you accept — which is what makes it useful to both sides of the [[Abortion Politics]] debate. ## See Also - [[Abortion Politics]] — the political landscape post-Dobbs - [[Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization]] — the SCOTUS decision that intensified the conflict