Pro-life activist Mark Houck wins 7-figure settlement in suit against Biden DOJ: 'A Huge Victory'
Published April 13, 2026
A pro-life activist has received a seven-figure settlement nearly four years after an early morning FBI raid on his home generated outrage and concern about the federal government’s treatment of pro-life advocates outside abortion clinics.
In a statement published Thursday, the pro-life advocacy group 40 Days for Life Institute of Law & Justice announced that pro-life activist Mark Houck won a settlement of over $1 million nearly four years after the early morning FBI raid on his home generated outrage. Houck, a devout Catholic father of seven, was charged with violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act by the Biden administration in 2022.
The FACE Act subjects anyone who “intentionally injures, intimidates, or interferes with or attempts to injure, intimidate or interfere with any person” who provides or assists in the provision of abortions to federal charges. The charges against Houck stemmed from an incident that took place as Houck and his son prayed outside an abortion clinic in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in October 2021.
While the U.S. Department of Justice alleged that Houck “twice assaulted a man because he was a volunteer reproductive health care clinic escort,” requiring the escort to receive “medical attention,” a fundraiser set up to pay for Houck’s legal expenses told a different story: “Last year, Mark and his son were praying in front of the PP at 12th and Locust. When one of the escorts began harassing Mark’s son they walked down the street away from the entrance to the building. When one of the escorts began harassing Mark’s son they walked down the street away from the entrance to the building. The escort followed them, and when he continued yelling at Mark’s son, Mark pushed him away.”
While a jury acquitted Houck in early 2023, Houck and his wife filed a lawsuit later that year alleging that the DOJ engaged in malicious and retaliatory prosecution, abuse of process, false arrest and assault.
A pro-life activist has received a seven-figure settlement nearly four years after an early morning FBI raid on his home generated outrage and concern about the federal government’s treatment of pro-life advocates outside abortion clinics.
In a statement published Thursday, the pro-life advocacy group 40 Days for Life Institute of Law & Justice announced that pro-life activist Mark Houck won a settlement of over $1 million nearly four years after the early morning FBI raid on his home generated outrage. Houck, a devout Catholic father of seven, was charged with violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act by the Biden administration in 2022.
The FACE Act subjects anyone who “intentionally injures, intimidates, or interferes with or attempts to injure, intimidate or interfere with any person” who provides or assists in the provision of abortions to federal charges. The charges against Houck stemmed from an incident that took place as Houck and his son prayed outside an abortion clinic in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in October 2021.
While the U.S. Department of Justice alleged that Houck “twice assaulted a man because he was a volunteer reproductive health care clinic escort,” requiring the escort to receive “medical attention,” a fundraiser set up to pay for Houck’s legal expenses told a different story: “Last year, Mark and his son were praying in front of the PP at 12th and Locust. When one of the escorts began harassing Mark’s son they walked down the street away from the entrance to the building. When one of the escorts began harassing Mark’s son they walked down the street away from the entrance to the building. The escort followed them, and when he continued yelling at Mark’s son, Mark pushed him away.”
While a jury acquitted Houck in early 2023, Houck and his wife filed a lawsuit later that year alleging that the DOJ engaged in malicious and retaliatory prosecution, abuse of process, false arrest and assault.
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