Six anti-abortion protesters were found guilty by a federal jury in Nashville last week of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act and “conspiracy against rights” — both felony charges. They were prosecuted by the Justice Department after they sang hymns and prayed in the hallway of a Tennessee abortion clinic. One of the protesters, Paul Vaughn, was arrested at his house days later by the FBI in front of his wife and 11 children.

Video of the protest, a very mild affair, shows a peaceful vigil to persuade expecting mothers against abortion. But in its charges against Vaughn and the others, the Biden administration accused the defendants of using “force and physical obstruction to injure, intimidate and interfere with employees of the clinic and a patient who was seeking reproductive health services.” As a result, these men and women now face up to 11 years in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.