Free Republic

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, rolled out an initiative last week to increase spending on police and support for crime victims. “Our $150 million refund the police initiative will provide a desperately needed shot in the arm to our state and local police agencies,” Hogan said at a press conference at the state house in Annapolis. “But there is far more work to be done.”

Defend Life, a small, Baltimore-based pro-life group, is celebrating a major legal victory nearly four years after its members were illegally arrested, strip-searched and jailed by the Maryland State Police for peacefully protesting abortion at an intersection in Harford County.In August 2008, 18 members of Defend Life displayed graphic posters of aborted fetuses along Route 24 as part of its annual "Face the Truth Tour." In response to irate calls from passing motorists, state troopers soon arrived and demanded to see the group's permit.In a videotaped confrontation available on YouTube, founder Jack Ames politely asks a state trooper why they...