The FBI used a major show of force to arrest pro-life Christian Mark Houck, 48, with dozens of agents reportedly descending on his home with guns drawn as Houck’s wife and children looked on in horror, according to CBN News.
Early Friday morning the FBI arrived at the Houck’s residence in Bucks County, PA, and began pounding on the door. Despite putting his hands up and willingly cooperating, multiple agents pointed guns in Mark’s face as his family – including his seven children – were forced to watch their dad “shackled” and taken away, according to family representative Brian Middleton, who spoke with CBN’s Faithwire.
Houck’s wife Ryan-Marie described the shocking scene to LifeSiteNews, saying her husband was pleading with agents. “‘Please, I’m going to open the door, but, please, my children are in the home. I have seven babies in the house.’ But they just kept pounding and screaming.” She added that they “had big, huge rifles pointed at Mark and pointed at me and kind of pointed throughout the house.”
Houck was released Friday afternoon.
THE BACKSTORY:
Mark Houck drove two hours to Philadelphia every Wednesday to speak outside of abortion clinics for six to eight hours at a time, his wife, Ryan-Marie Houck, told Life Site News.
During one of those trips, in October 2021, a minor altercation occurred with 72-year-old Bruce Love (who is identified only as “B.L.” on the indictment) at a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in Philadelphia.
Houck was at the abortion clinic praying and ministering within his legal rights (on the sidewalk, not clinic property) when, according to Middleton, it was Love who approached Houck’s 12-year-old son and began unleashing a string of vile comments, cursing the young man. That’s when Houck intervened and eventually pushed Love in order to protect his son, causing Love to fall to the ground. Then the police were called but they eventually decided there was a “lack of evidence” of an assault taking place and declined to pursue the issue any further.
Six days after the case was dismissed, Houck received a target letter from the DOJ notifying him he was the subject of a federal grand jury investigation. According to Middleton, Houck and his attorneys promptly replied to this notice but never heard back from the government – until Friday morning when the FBI began pounding on their door.
In a press release from the DOJ, they claim Houck violated the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act:
“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 Romero. “Our Office and the Department of Justice are committed to prosecuting crimes which threaten the safety and rights of all individuals.”
Mark Houck pleaded with the FBI agents before opening the door, telling them “please, I’m going to open the door, but, please, my children are in the home. I have seven babies in the house,” according to National Review.
The agents continued to yell, and when the door was opened, they pointed their guns at the Houcks while instructing the children to go upstairs, according to Ryan-Marie. “The kids were all just screaming. It was all just very scary and traumatic,” she said.
The FBI agents proceeded to put Houck into a vehicle and when his wife asked if they had a warrant, she said that they replied that “they were going to take him whether they had a warrant or not.”
After she accused them of kidnapping her husband, they presented her with the first page of the warrant, she said, which showed he was charged with violations of the FACE Act, due to an alleged “ATTACK OF A PATIENT ESCORT.”
Mark Houck was taken to “the federal building in downtown Philadelphia,” his wife told Life Site News.
