Another Biden DOJ Overreach Ends With a Big Check for Pro-Life Dad

AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

Former President Joe Biden and his attack dog Attorney General Merrick Garland turned the Department of Justice into their personal vendetta machine during the former president’s four long years in office, targeting parents who dared bring their concerns to their school boards and religious people who believed in the sanctity of life.

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Nowhere was that more evident than in the case of Paul Vaughn, a Christian father of 11 who was charged in October 2022 for violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act in March, 2021. He had participated in a Tennessee protest outside an abortion clinic where attendees prayed and sang hymns.

The 1994 federal FACE Act prohibits "threats of force, obstruction or inflict property damage intended to interfere with reproductive health care services" and was used extensively by the DOJ to go after the religious community.

Two days after the charges were filed, feds raided his Tennessee home and held three of his children at gunpoint while his terrified wife asked for answers.

It was the definition of overkill.

Oh, but how the tide has turned. President Donald Trump pardoned Vaughn in 2025 just days after his inauguration, and now the Justice Department has settled with Vaughn over their draconian power grab:

Vaughn pursued legal action against the Justice Department over his prosecution. He shared first with Fox News Digital that he recently reached a seven-figure settlement with the government agency.

Vaughn said the settlement has brought much-needed closure to his family after living through a traumatic, multiyear ordeal stemming from the "egregious deeds of the Biden DOJ."

"Obviously, money doesn't equate justice, and there's not a true sense of justice in the settlement, but it is an acknowledgment of wrong, and it is something to help make up for the time lost," he told Fox News Digital.

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Vaughn was represented by the nonprofit public-interest law firm the Thomas More Society:


This Is Shameful: Wild Video of FBI Raid on Home of Yet Another Pro-Life Activist

Peaceful Pro-Life Protesters Who Sat and Sang Gospel Songs Found Guilty, Face Long Prison Terms


As my colleague Nick Arama wrote at the time, the DOJ’s actions were “shameful.” Although rioters were seemingly able to do whatever they wanted during the George Floyd protests, the feds sent a virtual army in to terrorize a family man for peacefully protesting:

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Vaughn worries about what mental scars the nightmare raid will leave with his children, noting that his 5-year-old still suffers from anxiety from the ordeal.

The settlement isn’t just a victory for the Vaughn family; it’s yet another repudiation of Biden, Garland and their minions, as Vaughn's counsel noted:

With each passing day, Joe Biden’s legacy withers even further. 

Editor’s Note: The endless lawfare against regular Americans was emblematic of the banana republic Biden regime.

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