What is the FACE Act - the law Don Lemon is charged with breaking

The FACE Act was passed by Congress in 1994 in response to a surge in violence, threats, and blockades targeting abortion providers. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the law makes it illegal to use force, threats, or physical obstruction to injure, intimidate, or interfere with someone seeking or providing reproductive health services.

But that’s not the only thing the law covers.

The statute also explicitly protects the free exercise of religion, making it illegal to intentionally interfere with religious worship or to damage or destroy a place of religious worship. In other words, the FACE Act doesn’t just apply to abortion clinics, it also applies to churches, synagogues, mosques, and other religious sites.

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