Our fight for faith and freedom continues! Here are the highlights for August:
* On August 6, AFLC Co-Founder and Senior Counsel David Yerushalmi argued our motion for a preliminary injunction in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York. The motion was filed in our civil rights lawsuit challenging New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Executive Order 205, which requires all persons who travel to New York from certain “restricted” States to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival.
As stated by the U.S. Supreme Court, “The right to travel is a virtually unconditional personal right, guaranteed by the Constitution to us all.”
A violation of the order could result in criminal and civil penalties, including a civil penalty of up to $10,000.
(From the beginning, Governor Cuomo has shamefully politicized this declared pandemic. In a brief we filed on July 30 in this case, we blasted the Governor).
*On August 11, AFLC Co-Founder and Senior Counsel Robert Muise took the deposition of the witness designated by the City of Detroit to testify on its behalf in our lawsuit against the City challenging the draconian restrictions it enforced against a pro-life group during the Democratic party debates held in July 2019 in Detroit at the Fox Theatre.
During the debates, the City did everything it could to marginalize and silence the message of the pro-lifers, in violation of their rights protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
* Also on August 11, we filed an emergency motion for an injunction pending appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in our lawsuit challenging the executive orders of New York Governor Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio—orders which prohibit all protests in the City except the government-approved protests of Black Lives Matter (BLM).
The lawsuit, which was filed on behalf of political activist Pamela Geller, challenges the Governor’s and Mayor’s executive orders which prohibit “non-essential gatherings” in the City—orders which make it unlawful to peaceably assemble and protest, unless your protest supports the political agenda of the BLM movement.
* On August 17, We filed a motion for an injunction pending appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in our lawsuit challenging Governor Cuomo’s travel restriction after the district court denied our motion for a preliminary injunction.
* On August 24, Muise participated in yet another pretrial conference with the court in our defense of four courageous pro-lifers who peacefully entered an abortion center in Flint, Michigan in June 2019 as part of a Red Rose Rescue. Despite the peaceful actions of the pro-lifers, the County prosecutor is pursuing felony criminal charges against them. Compare the actions of these peaceful pro-life protestors with the looting, rioting, and mayhem caused by the Black Lives Matter “protestors” who are not being arrested, let alone prosecuted, for their violent criminal actions and the injustice is palpable.
Given the backlog caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the pro-lifers’ case will not likely go to a jury until Spring 2021. In fact, the next pretrial conference is not scheduled to take place until January 25, 2021.
* As always, we have several other important cases in the works! We must be vigilant and persistent in our fight for faith and freedom, especially during this “pandemic”!
Thank you for your prayers and financial support. We couldn’t do what we do without them!