5 Anti-Abortionists Acquitted on 24 Counts : Operation Rescue Founder Calls Decision ‘Vindication’; Mistrial on 3 Conspiracy Charges

Anti-abortion activist Randall Terry and four followers were acquitted Wednesday of two dozen charges stemming from an Easter weekend blockade of a Los Angeles women’s clinic.

The 30-year-old founder of Operation Rescue called the decision a “vindication” of his anti-abortion crusade.

“This was a critical trial for us,” Terry said in a telephone interview from his home in New York. “I think that being acquitted by a jury of our peers will be a tremendous boost to the pro-life community.

“But the most important thing,” added Terry, who left Los Angeles shortly after deliberations began, “is that this is a small movement toward justice for children and mothers.”

Mistrial on 3 Charges

Terry and co-defendants Jeff White, 31; Andrew Eppink, 41; Donald Bennette, 36, and Michael McMonagle, 36, were acquitted on 24 of 27 misdemeanor charges, ranging from conspiracy to obstructing justice to resisting arrest.

Los Angeles Municipal Judge Richard Paez declared a mistrial on three remaining conspiracy counts after jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict. Prosecutors said they were not yet certain if they will refile the charges.

Throughout the trial, Paez had maintained that his courtroom would not be a forum for debating the morality of abortion. But after five weeks of testimony, during which fetuses were called “children,” abortion clinics dubbed “killing centers,” and pro-choice activists labeled “murderers,” it became, in the words of one juror, “an underlying theme” in their decision-making.

“They were trying to save lives and we were for that, too,” juror Priscilla Ramos said. “I’d love to shake Randall Terry’s hand.”

The verdict contrasted greatly with a ruling two weeks ago by a federal judge, who found Operation Rescue members in contempt for defying injunctions barring them from blocking clinics and likened them to “used-car salesmen.”

Deputy City Atty. Lara J. Bloomquist said it was clearly the jurors’ emotions that made the outcome of the Municipal Court battle different from the one waged, without a jury, in federal court. “I think emotion played a major part,” the prosecutor said. “For five weeks, we’ve had Bibles on the tables, we’ve had people talking about ripping heads off of babies, stuff you never hear in a courtroom.”

‘Necessity Defense’

The anti-abortion activists had initially set out to use the “necessity defense,” which says laws can be broken in order to prevent harm or “significant evil.” But that argument has rarely stood up in California courts and was thrown out by Paez because abortion is legal.

Jeff White, the only defendant present for the verdict, expressed relief “that the jury saw we were sincere, and lives were at stake. . . . We have the moral high ground now and science is on our side.”

The five Operation Rescue leaders were the first of 539 anti-abortionists to face trial for charges stemming from a March 25 sit-in at a Family Planning Associates clinic.

Hugged by Jurors

White was congratulated and hugged by many of the jurors as they left the courtroom. And one juror--who admitted entering the jury box wary of Terry--said he was walking away with new found respect for the activist and his movement.

“I guess, before the trial I was generally pro-choice, and I still am,” said Edmund Bleavins, 43, who added that he was shocked to learn during the trial that women up to six months pregnant could have abortions. “But I now respect the individuals for standing up for what they believe (and) I think seeing Mr. Terry in court humanized him a little.”

It was what jurors perceived as inhumane treatment of demonstrators while they were being arrested that tipped the scales.

Underlying Issue

Abortion was an “underlying issue,” according to juror Marilyn McNichols, who told attorneys that she was a Christian. “But it was the brutality,” she said, referring to graphic testimony and videotapes that showed police using pain compliance holds on protesters.

“They were nonviolent, they tried to work with the police and I can’t believe they came down on these people like that,” Bleavins said. “Mr. McMonagle was arrested in front of the chief of police and they nearly twisted the man’s arm out of the socket.”

Police brutality was the main argument used by the defense to counter charges of resisting arrest. Jurors agreed that excessive force was used selectively, targeting the anti-abortion protesters and not pro-choice activists, some of whom were physically closer to the clinic’s doors.

Times staff writers Tracy Wilkinson and John Kendall contributed to this story.