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New York AG [Letitia James] Spied on Pro-Life Activists
Used tax dollars on hidden cams, undercover cops to assist abortion clinic
freebeacon ^ | August 31, 2021 | Patrick Hauf
Posted on 8/31/2021, 11:05:05 PM by MarvinStinson
New York attorney general Letitia James’s office deployed hidden cameras and undercover operatives against a pro-life Brooklyn pastor and his flock, but the year-long legal campaign hit a snag Thursday when a federal appeals court unanimously affirmed the protesters’ right to gather.James and her two Democratic predecessors have pursued various harassment charges against Rev. Kenneth Griepp and worshippers of his Brooklyn church since 2017, going so far as to pay for and install hidden security cameras at a local abortion clinic. The impressive array of taxpayer-funded surveillance equipment, however, did not impress jurists at the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The court unanimously affirmed a district court decision to dismiss James’s bid for a preliminary injunction against the protesters because she “failed to establish a likelihood of success on the merits as to most claims.”
“It may be particularly appropriate to reconsider whether there were violations,” the appellate court added.
Griepp, senior pastor of Church at the Rock, said the state’s lawsuit made organizing efforts more difficult because churchgoers were afraid legal action could be taken against them. Griepp said he still takes joy in counseling women outside of the abortion clinic because he knows he’s following his calling.
“The political powers have rejected God in this sphere of life,” Griepp told the Washington Free Beacon. “We rejoice in the persecution. Does that make it easier? No. But it does allow us to understand that this is part of following the Lord.”
The New York attorney general’s office, which did not respond to a request for comment, claimed the pro-life activists crowded and threatened women outside of the Choices Women’s Medical Center in Queens. The state complaint details how officials planted hidden cameras outside of the abortion clinic and hired undercover investigators to infiltrate the sidewalk events in an attempt to prove there was harassment. Stephen Crampton, senior counsel for the Thomas More Society, the nonprofit religious liberty firm that represented Griepp, said this is an example of the state targeting its political enemies to the benefit of its political allies.
“It looks to all the world that this is a targeting of pro-life activists who happen to be persistent and effective,” Crampton told the Free Beacon. “So the dirty work here is done by the state and not the clinic itself.”