Mark Houck, the pro-life activist and father of seven who was prosecuted by the Biden administration over an alleged confrontation outside of an abortion clinic, announced this week that he is running for Congress.
Houck, who was acquitted earlier this year after facing 11 years in prison for allegedly violating the FACE Act, a federal crime making it illegal to injure, intimidate, or interfere with anyone due to their status as an abortion provider, is challenging incumbent Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick in the Republican primary for Pennsylvania’s 1st Congressional District.
“I have seen first-hand what an out of control government can do to its citizens. I will fight to protect all people and their rights under God & our Constitution. My platform is based on common sense,” Houck says on his campaign website.
Houck, who leads a nonprofit group that provides sidewalk counseling at abortion clinics in Philadelphia, was prosecuted over an incident involving his then-12-year-old son at a Planned Parenthood abortion facility.
“I am running for Congress to further protect my family, those in the 1st district & the Republic. I will focus on restoring traditional values & principles that are central to the American identity, such as faith, family, & freedom of speech, religion, & the right to bear arms,” Houck says.
Issues highlighted on Houck’s website include support of limited government and a strong military that is not “a social experimentation program.”
Fitzpatrick, a former FBI agent and federal prosecutor, has been the district’s representative since 2019 and heads up the House subcommittee on national intelligence. The district covers an area just north of Philadelphia, including Bucks County.
“I’ve known the Fitzpatrick family for a long time. I have the highest respect for the Fitzpatrick family. I honor his service to our country, but the time has come, I think, for a change in our district,” Houck told The Church Militant website.
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During and after his prosecution, Republican lawmakers raised concerns over the aggressive approach federal authorities took in Houck’s case. In September 2022, FBI agents in 15 vehicles raided Houck’s residence, quickly surrounded the house, and began pounding on the door, demanding his family open up, his wife Ryan-Marie Houck told the Catholic News Agency.
He told House lawmakers in May that he believes the FBI raided his home to “humiliate me, to scare my children, and to instill fear in pro-life America.”
“My children were downrange of many guns, and they screamed through the whole process,” Houck said. “The committee should know that they were traumatized.”