CV NEWS FEED // One year after he was acquitted of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, Catholic pro-life activist Mark Houck is gaining momentum in his run for a U.S. House Seat.
Last August, Houck announced his candidacy to represent Pennsylvania’s First Congressional District, which includes his home in East Greenville, PA. He is challenging four-term incumbent Brian Fitzpatrick, R-PA, in the April 23 Republican Primary.
As CatholicVote previously reported: “Fitzpatrick is a self-professed Catholic with a mixed voting record on life and family issues and has earned a ‘D’ rating from the Catholic Accountability Project.”
According to the eastern Pennsylvania conservative blog BillLawrenceOnline, Houck won the Republican committee vote for two local districts, placing him closer to scoring a stunning upset over his opponent.
“In previous campaign challenges, Fitzpatrick has practically swept the endorsement races,” the blog noted: [T]he long-time incumbent should be overwhelmingly winning these races. Something is in the wind.”
Tuesday marked the one-year anniversary of Houck’s acquittal. He had faced up to 11 years in federal prison after the Biden administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) targeted him in a case that was widely criticized.
In November, Houck announced that he was suing the DOJ for their “malicious and retaliatory prosecution” against him, as well as for Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) 2022 raid of his home. The FBI is a DOJ agency.
“The arrest was in connection to an incident in which Houck shoved a pro-abortion activist to the ground in front of a Planned Parenthood building after the activist repeatedly threatened his 12-year-old son,” CatholicVote noted last year.
Houck told CatholicVote after announcing his lawsuit: “I think if the DOJ gets hit hard enough and there’s a big enough black eye against them, then they’re going to cease and desist from coming after pro-life people and people of faith.”
“The government can’t do this to its people,” he continued. “It’s against our Constitution. We have rights, and they can’t do this in this egregious manner, and with no cause.”
“I am running for Congress to further protect my family, those in the 1st district, and the Republic,” Houck said at the start of his campaign:
I have seen first-hand what an out of control government can do to its citizens. I will fight to protect all people and their rights under God and our Constitution. My platform is based on common sense.
