Pittsburgh pro-life activist could face 11 years in prison after 2020 abortion clinic blockade

A pro-life activist from Pittsburgh could face up to 11 years in prison after a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., indicted him for blocking access to a D.C. abortion clinic.

Herb Geraghty, 25, is charged with conspiracy against rights and Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act offenses after he participated in an October 2020 “pro-life block and lock rescue” of the Washington Surgi-Clinic.

Geraghty is the 10th blockade participant to face federal charges related to the protest, which was livestreamed on Facebook.

In a release, the Department of Justice alleged that Geraghty and others “forcefully entered the clinic and set about blockading two clinic doors using their bodies, furniture, chains and ropes.”

The nine other defendants were indicted last March.

Geraghty tweeted about the indictment on Monday. He called the protest non-violent and said the Biden administration is using the Justice Department as “a weapon against political dissidents.”

“If convicted, I am facing up to 11 years in federal prison,” Geraghty wrote. “That is obviously terrifying. However, 11 years is nothing compared to having your life snuffed out before you are even old enough to take your first steps or speak your first words.”

If they are convicted, Geraghty and other defendants could also face up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $260,000, according to the Justice Department.

Geraghty, who attended the University of Pittsburgh, serves as executive director of nonprofit human rights organization Rehumanize International. In a statement to the Tribune-Review, Geraghty said he is a pro-life atheist who “embraces a consistent life ethic.”

“For me, being pro-life isn’t about ‘imposing religion,’ it is about defending the human rights of a marginalized group, the unborn,” Geraghty wrote.

The FBI investigated this case, and the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Departent prosecuted it.

The indictment comes one month after the FBI raided the home of a Philadelphia-area pro-life activist and arrested him on FACE Act offenses.