Thirty-three-year-old pro-life activist Bevelyn Beatty Williams has been sentenced to three years and five months in prison by a Manhattan federal court for violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act by protesting outside an NYC abortion clinic.
The Christian was convicted of “interference, including by threats and force, with individuals seeking to obtain and provide” abortions in the early days of the pandemic in 2020, according to a statement from the Department of Justice (DOJ).
The Tennessee wife and mother was sentenced after preaching the Gospel outside an NYC abortion clinic and allegedly injuring a clinic worker’s hand and blocking the entrance.
“I was persecuted as a Christian standing for my beliefs when it comes to life,” read a statement from Williams on her fundraising page. “This is devastating news. Not only is this bond extensive for the accused crime, but she made it very clear in the courtroom that she was going to make an example out of me.”
Pro-life leaders protested a radical NJ abortion bill that would allow abortion for any reason throughout all nine months of pregnancy. https://t.co/5Ax9PDvfrT
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) December 7, 2020
The DOJ statement detailed Williams leaned against the abortion clinic door, blocking a clinic worker from entering, and trapping another worker’s hand inside the door.
The DOJ noted according to a livestream on social media posted by Williams, she “stood within inches of the Health Center’s chief administrative officer and threatened to ‘terrorize this place’ and warned that ‘we’re gonna terrorize you so good, your business is gonna be over mama.’”
Williams, who has a two-year-old daughter, intends to appeal the decision.
To that end she he has set up a GiveSendGo fundraiser seeking to raise $250,000 in support of a “fight for freedom,” noting she has 60 days to appeal.
So far she has raised $62,000 towards her target amount.
Williams maintains “I was persecuted as a Christian standing for my beliefs when it comes to life.”