April 3, 2024 – United States Attorney Henry Leventis for the Middle District of Tennessee and Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced that a federal judge returned a guilty verdict yesterday for defendants Eva Edl, Eva Zastrow, James Zastrow, and Paul Place on criminal charges arising out of their blockade of a reproductive health care clinic in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, on March 5, 2021.
The judge found each defendant guilty of a violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE Act), 18 U.S.C. § 248.
Evidence presented at trial proved that the defendants violated the FACE Act by using physical obstruction over the course of several hours to interfere with the clinic’s employees and a patient, because the clinic was providing, and the patient sought, reproductive health services. The clinic was located on the second floor of a medical building. The defendants and others filled the interior hallway to the clinic. These defendants positioned themselves directly in front of the main clinic door for over two hours, physically blocking access to the clinic, resulting in no patients accessing the clinic. Police requested that the defendants leave or move multiple times, but after more than two hours, these defendants were arrested.
The defendants face up to a maximum of six months in prison, five years of supervised release, and fines of up to $10,000.
The case was investigated by the Memphis Division – Nashville Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office
