Federal prosecutors have offered a no-jail plea deal to a vandal who admitted to defacing a Catholic church with profane graffiti, destroying a Virgin Mary statue, assaulting a church worker and resisting arrest.
The Justice Department lawyers recommended three years probation for Maeve Nota, a 31-year-old transgender person who damaged the St. Louise Catholic Church in Bellevue, Washington.
Nota attacked the church last year in response to the Supreme Court overturning the nationwide right to abortion, according to court records.
Nota caused $100,000 worth of damage to the church, which included smashing a glass door to gain entry and spray-painting messages on the walls such as “F*** Catholics,” “rot in your fake hell,” “kid groomers,” and “woman haters.”
Nota also sprayed paint into the face of a church worker.
The Washington Times reached out to the Justice Department for comment but did not hear back.
Following the high court’s decision last summer, Catholic churches and crisis pregnancy centers across the U.S. were targeted by vandals. Republican lawmakers have criticized the FBI and the DOJ for slow-walking the investigations while devoting considerable energy and resources to investigations and prosecutions of pro-life activists.
They note the case of Mark Houck who faced federal assault charges for shoving a Planned Parenthood volunteer outside the abortion clinic. The shoving incident prompted the FBI to raid his home and federal prosecutors to charge him under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which criminalizes the use of force with the intent to injure, intimidate and interfere with abortion clinic workers.
Mr. Houck faced eleven years in prison but was acquitted at trial.
Critics say the disparate treatment of activists on different sides of the abortion debate smacks of political bias.
The House Judiciary Committee this week revealed new details about the FBI field office in Richmond’s plan to spy on Catholic churches and church leaders, including that the plan was distributed to other FBI offices across the country.
The FBI internal document revealed the bureau relied on information derived from at least one undercover operative who sought to use local religious organizations as “new avenues for tripwire and source development,” the committee said.
The documents detail how the FBI planned to develop sources in Catholic churches, and was reviewed and approved by two senior intelligence analysts and the chief counsel for the Richmond office.
The FBI said it is cooperating with the committee and actively “working to respond to congressional requests for information – including voluntary production of documents.”
In March, when the plan to target churches first became public, FBI Director Christopher A. Wray said such actions would not be tolerated at the bureau.
“I was aghast and we took steps immediately to withdraw it and remove it from FBI systems,” Mr. Wray told lawmakers. “It does not reflect FBI standards. We do not conduct investigations based on religious affiliation or practices, full stop.”
