DOJ fires at least 4 prosecutors involved in FACE Act cases during Biden admin.
Among those fired is Sanjay Patel, a longtime federal prosecutor in the Civil Rights Division's criminal section who was placed on administrative leave last month, sources told CBS News at the time.
Updated on: April 13, 2026 / 4:46 PM EDT / CBS News
The Justice Department has fired at least four prosecutors who were involved in prosecutions under the FACE Act during the Biden administration, a government official familiar with the firings told CBS News.
Congress passed the FACE Act in 1994 to address rising concerns about threats and intimidation that women were facing at reproductive health clinics. Nonviolent and first-time offenses of the law are misdemeanors, while repeat offenses or violations that result in bodily injury or death can be treated as felonies.
The report is being drafted by the Justice Department's "weaponization working group," established in the first days of former Attorney General Pam Bondi's tenure.
The Trump administration has repeatedly alleged without citing evidence that the Civil Rights Division under former Attorney General Merrick Garland used the Act to intentionally target conservative Christians who are morally opposed to abortion.