Four more “DC Nine” rescuers were sentenced in federal court yesterday, including Life Legal client, Herb Geraghty. After jailing the defendants immediately after their jury trial in August, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly sentenced our client to 27 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Geraghty has already spent 9 months in a DC area jail and will be transferred to a federal facility for an additional 18 months.
This is a gross injustice. Our client never blocked access to the clinic, never violated the FACE Act, and never engaged in anything but peaceful conduct during the rescue, even serving as the rescuers’ liaison with police officers on the day of the incident.
Insisting this case concerns “reproductive healthcare” rather than abortion, Judge Kollar-Kotelly issued a three-year stay away order from any sort of “reproductive health care facility” – not just abortion clinics but hospitals and other medical facilities – following Geraghty’s release. The judge also accepted every word of the pre-sentencing report endorsed by the government suggesting that our client’s sentence be enhanced for a number of reasons, including a completely false accusation of perjury.
Judge Kollar-Kotelly’s harsh sentence came as no surprise. During the defendants’ jury trial nine months ago, she consistently stifled pro-life speech and repeatedly interrupted both our client and Life Legal attorney John Kiyonaga, who is representing Geraghty. When Geraghty attempted to explain the reason for visiting the Washington Surgi-Clinic – including evidence that the abortionist does late term partial birth abortions – the judge instructed the jury to ignore that portion of the testimony.
Defendants have a constitutional right to testify at their own criminal trials, and this judge not only took away this right, but derided our client’s testimony in front of the jury. The judge went on to issue similar instructions during the remainder of Geraghty’s testimony, revealing her dismissive attitude – not only toward our attorney and client, but toward the pro-life movement in general.
This should not stand.
The day before Geraghty was sentenced, Kiyonaga filed a motion citing notable instances of Judge Kollar-Kotelly’s biases on the record. Not surprisingly, the judge denied the motion. During the sentencing hearing, the judge continued to be dismissive of pro-life views. She regularly interrupted attorney Kiyonaga as he advocated for our client’s nonviolent efforts to defend vulnerable human life. But Kiyonaga was resolute – fighting for our client and the pro-life movement against a hostile court. He characterized further confinement for our client an “outrage” and filed a notice of appeal immediately after the sentencing hearing.
A total of seven defendants have been sentenced so far, with two additional rescuers to face sentencing later this month. The sentences range from 21 to 57 months.
These are unjust sentences, and we will do everything in our power to secure a reversal on appeal. While the Biden administration’s “Reproductive Rights Task Force” is aggressively targeting pro-lifers who enter clinics under the name of FACE, children in the womb still need our advocacy.
We want to remind you that pro-life protest, prayer, and sidewalk counseling are still legal and constitutionally protected on public sidewalks and other areas open to free speech. We have guidance for sidewalk activities outside abortion clinics available here. If you have any questions about what is permissible or not, please contact us.