Pro-Life Father Facing 11 Years In Prison Says Biden DOJ Is Targeting Conservative Christians

 DETROIT—A father of two facing more than a decade in prison over his participation in a peaceful pro-life protest in Michigan said Wednesday that he couldn’t fathom spending another week away from his wife and family.

Joel Curry, of Saginaw, Michigan, faces up to 11 years in federal prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines if convicted of a felony conspiracy against rights and FACE Act charge this month. His trial, alongside that of six co-defendants, began this week at the Theodore Levin courthouse in Detroit.

Curry, a devout Christian and pro-life advocate, was targeted by the Biden administration after he sat and stood in front of the doors of the Northland Family Planning Clinic in Sterling, Michigan. In an interview with The Daily Wire on Wednesday, he said that he couldn’t imagine getting a prison sentence. 

”I don’t want to spend 11 years in prison. I can’t fathom spending 11 years. I can’t fathom spending another week away from my wife, my kids because I’m over here,” he said. “That’s scary.”

He added that, based on sentences coming out of Tennessee for similar charges, he didn’t think he and his co-defendants would get the maximum sentence if convicted. He said that the Justice Department should be referred to as the “department of injustice,” and that it has weaponized the FACE Act to target conservative Christians and pro-life activists. 

Curry, who says he wants to see abortion abolished throughout the country, has a wife and two young children. His youngest, a daughter, was born on July 30. He said he was originally unsure if he would miss the birth or not. 

He has long held pro-life beliefs, but said that it was after watching the movie “Unplanned” that he really started to become active. 

”That movie showed me the horrors of the actual act of abortion and the violence that happens to an unborn child. I saw it and said this is terrible,” he said. “What should I do? I can’t just sit idly by while my neighbor is being killed.”

 

Prior to his involvement at the protest in Sterling Heights, Curry said that he frequently offered sidewalk counseling at abortion providers near Saginaw. He said that Christians need to be doing more to stand up for the unborn.

”Christians ought to stand up. We’re not going to create an army and go to vigilante justice, but we’re going to do the most that we can to protect our neighbors whether they’re a second old or 100 years old,” he said. 

Jury selection for Curry and his co-defendants’ trial ended Wednesday after two full days. The others charged include Eva Edl, Cal Zastrow, Chester Gallagher, Heather Idoni, Justin Phillips, and Eva Zastrow. 

During his preliminary instructions to the jury, Judge Matthew Leitman said that jurors would be allowed to remain even if they had strong views on abortion, provided they could set them aside for the trial. He said the trial was not about whether abortion was “morally right or morally wrong.”

He repeatedly said throughout the day that there was “so much riding” on the case and that it was very “high stakes.” Leitman said he expects the trial to go on for two to three weeks though some on the defense team told The Daily Wire they don’t think the trial will go on that long. 

The prosecution is being led by U.S. Attorney Frances Carlson and Justice Department trial attorney Laura-Kate Bernstein. 

Caroline Davis, who was initially charged along with the other activists, took a plea deal with the Justice Department and agreed to testify. She pled her felony charges down to a misdemeanor and testified earlier this year against other pro-life defendants in Tennessee.  

Idoni, who is representing herself, appeared in court with handcuffs around her feet and hands. She has been in federal custody after being sentenced to two years in prison over her involvement in another pro-life protest.