New Trump DOJ Nominee Called a 'Huge Win for Life', Would Replace Official Who Targeted Pro-Lifers
President-elect Donald Trump has named a pro-life lawyer for a top position at the U.S. Department of Justice.
Harmeet K. Dhillon has been tapped as the assistant attorney general for civil rights in the Justice Department. It's an appointment pro-lifers say comes at a crucial time as several activists are serving time in federal prison for being prosecuted by the Biden administration under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.
In a statement on Truth Social, Trump said Dhillon has consistently protected civil liberties including taking on Big Tech for censoring free speech, defending Christians who were "prevented from praying" during COVID, and suing corporations who use policies to discriminate against their employees.
"Harmeet is one of the top election lawyers in the country, fighting to ensure that all, and ONLY, legal votes are counted," he wrote adding that she is a "respected member of the Sikh religious community. In her new role at the DOJ, Harmeet will be a tireless defender of our Constitutional Rights and will enforce our Civil Rights and Election Laws FAIRLY and FIRMLY."
The former vice chair of the California GOP responded to her nomination writing on X, "I'm extremely honored by President Trump's nomination to assist with our nation's civil rights agenda. It has been my dream to be able to serve our great country, and I am so excited to be part of an incredible team of lawyers led by @PamBondi. I cannot wait to get to work."
As CBN News has reported, Dhillon has sought justice for numerous minors who struggled with gender dysphoria and felt they were coerced into life-altering gender-transitioning medical treatments and were not given full disclosure about less invasive treatment options. Chloe Cole is one high profile example.
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In addition, the San Francisco-based lawyer is well-known among the pro-life community for defending David Daleidan, an undercover journalist who exposed Planned Parenthood for its grim practice of selling aborted baby body parts.
There are high hopes among pro-life activists as Dhillon would replace current Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke.
Clarke has been called a pro-abortion radical who has "abused" the FACE Act to prosecute Americans for engaging in their First Amendment protest rights, LifeNews reports.
BREAKING: Trump nominates pro-life advocate Harmeet Dhillon as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice, replacing the current official responsible for targeting pro-life advocates jailed for defending unborn children
— Anna Lulis (@annamlulis) December 10, 2024
Huge win for life pic.twitter.com/WHW6ClBewv
Clarke celebrated the imprisonment of seven pro-life activists, including Laura Handy, for attempting to prevent late-term abortions of unborn babies.
These are the faces of the pro-life advocates imprisoned under the Biden-Harris Administration for defending unborn children
— Anna Lulis (@annamlulis) December 10, 2024
Jailing pro-lifers must end. pic.twitter.com/WknuaYqcY6
As CBN News reported, Handy and nine other pro-life activists held a sit-in protest at an abortion facility in October of 2020. They sang, prayed out loud, locked arms in front of the facility's staff entrance, and attached themselves to rope and chains to block doors in the building as a means to "delay the murder of kids."
Several activists were charged in August 2023 by Clarke with conspiracy to interfere with civil rights and violating the FACE Act.
In May, Handy was sentenced to 57 months or five years in prison, plus three years of supervision, for her efforts to try to save the lives of pre-born babies.
Although Handy's actions were non-violent, Clarke claimed they used violence by creating a blockade in the clinic.
"Violence has no place in our national discourse on reproductive health. Using force, threatening to use force or physically obstructing access to reproductive health care is unlawful," she said. "The Justice Department will continue to protect both patients seeking reproductive health services and providers of those services."
Critics have accused the DOJ of weaponizing the FACE Act against peaceful pro-life advocates while barely responding after pro-abortion activists torched and destroyed pregnancy resource centers across the country.
"President Biden promised the American people that he would be a president for everyone…and now proves that was all a lie," said Emily Erin Davis VP of Communications for SBA Pro-Life America.
She continued, "The Biden-Harris administration have weaponized the Department of Justice, under the FACE Act, to criminalize and incarcerate pro-life Americans. Even despite the FBI Director, Christopher Wray, confirming that 70% of abortion-related violence targets pro-lifers, the Biden Administration has used the full force of the federal government to unfairly criminalize in one direction – against peaceful pro-life Americans. These advocates now face up to more than a decade in federal prison."
"Biden's DOJ chokes their political enemies all while turning a blind eye to activists nationwide that assault pregnancy resource centers and other life-affirming organizations," Davis added.