FBI says wife is lying about terrifying SWAT claim describing pro-life activist husband’s arrest

The Friday raid and arrest of Catholic father of seven and pro-life activist Mark Houck, 48, by the FBI at his home in Pennsylvania has sparked a social media fire under conservatives who claim the use of a SWAT team is yet another example of the Biden administration’s weaponizing of the Justice Department.

But the FBI is now pushing back against what it calls “inaccurate claims” surrounding the incident.

As BizPac Review reported, Houck, who co-founded The King’s Men, a Catholic ministry for which Houck serves as president, had his house raided for allegedly pushing a 72-year-old pro-abortion man for repeatedly harassing his 12-year-old son while Houck offered sidewalk counseling outside a Planned Parenthood clinic last year.

Though the man was not injured, he did attempt to sue Houck, but the case was thrown out earlier this summer.

Apparently, the Department of Justice has loads of time on its hands, because Attorney General Merrick Garland decided the scuffle was reason enough to intervene.

According to Houck’s wife, Ryan-Marie, a SWAT team consisting of between 25 and 30 FBI agents stormed their property, rifles raised, while her frightened children screamed.

“Our staircase is open, so [the kids] were all at the top of the stairs which faces the front door, and I was on the stairs as well, coming down. The kids were all just screaming. It was all just very scary and traumatic,” Ryan-Marie told LifeSite News.

But according to a spokesperson with the FBI’s Philadelphia office, the terrifying picture Ryan-Marie has painted is “inaccurate.”

“There are inaccurate claims being made regarding the arrest of Mark Houck,” the spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “No SWAT Team or SWAT operators were involved. FBI agents knocked on Mr. Houck’s front door, identified themselves as FBI agents and asked him to exit the residence. He did so and was taken into custody without incident pursuant to an indictment.”

The spokesperson declined to respond to a follow-up question from Fox News Digital regarding Ryan-Marie’s claim that 25 agents turned up to execute the arrest.

Houck was charged by indictment with violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, “which makes it a federal crime to use force with the intent to injure, intimidate, and interfere with anyone because that person is a provider of reproductive health care,” according to a press release from the DOJ.

“Assault is always a serious offense, and under the FACE Act, if the victim is targeted because of their association with a reproductive healthcare clinic, it is a federal crime,” said U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero. “Our Office and the Department of Justice are committed to prosecuting crimes which threaten the safety and rights of all individuals.”

“Put simply, violence is never the answer,” said Jacqueline Maguire, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “Violating the FACE Act by committing a physical assault is a serious crime for which the FBI will work to hold offenders accountable.”

If convicted, Houck could face a maximum sentence of 11 years in prison, fines of up to $350,000, and three years of supervised release.

A GiveSendGo fund has been set up to help him and his family.

Melissa Fine

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