The Justice Department (DOJ) is coming under fire for recommending no jail time for Maeve Nota, a 31-year-old transgender individual who vandalized a Catholic Church in Bellevue, Washington. Nota admitted to defacing the church with profane graffiti, destroying a statue of the Virgin Mary, assaulting a church worker, and resisting arrest.
Critics have accused the DOJ of politicizing the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act to go after pro-life Christians praying outside of abortion clinics while ignoring violent felons like Nota.
Police arrested Nota after they vandalized the church while appearing intoxicated. They were angry about the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Nota spray-painted the church’s outside walls with messages that read, “F— Catholics,” “rot in your fake hell,” “kid groomers,” and “woman haters,” among other messages.
They also smashed two glass doors with rocks and used a backpack full of spray paint cans to smash the police vehicle before turning themselves in.
According to a plea agreement, the DOJ will recommend three years of probation at the time of Nota’s sentencing on June 2. Meanwhile, the DOJ has pursued a tough stance against pro-life protesters outside abortion clinics, like Mark Houck.
Houck was accused of violating the FACE Act by using force with the intent to injure, intimidate, and interfere with clinic workers while outside an abortion clinic. The DOJ wanted to sentence him to 11 years in prison, but a jury acquitted him. The FBI even raided his home.