Pro-life activist prosecuted by Biden DOJ reacts to Trump pardon: 'I want to give him a hug'

FIRST ON FOX: When Joan Bell, 76, was fixed the quality she was 1 of the pro-life activists pardoned by President Donald Trump Thursday afternoon, she was successful disbelief.

"I didn't cognize if that meant we would get retired successful a fewer weeks oregon a fewer months, oregon what. I didn't truly know, but I knew we got pardoned," Bell, a grandma of eight, told Fox News Digital Friday. "Well, past I ran upstairs due to the fact that I had a rosary each evening."

After finishing her prayers and Bible study with different inmates, Bell, a lifelong pro-life advocate, was told by respective different inmates that her husband, Christopher Bell, was connected Laura Ingraham's Fox News amusement saying she was so 1 of the 23 others pardoned.

PRO-LIFE PROTESTERS COULD FACE UP TO 10 YEARS IN PRISON: ‘POLITICAL WITCH HUNT’

President Donald Trump pardoned 23 pro-life activists Thursday.   (Getty/Christopher Bell)

"That was overwhelmingly beautiful," Bell recalled. "Everyone was clapping." She was past told by a defender to battalion up her things for her merchandise aboriginal that evening. 

"We are truthful grateful to Trump. And to conscionable consciousness the caller air, God's beauteous air, conscionable wonderful," Bell said. "Just being retired and being with my husband, my son, conscionable glorious. There are nary words to picture that benignant of freedom." 

She added that she and her hubby volition instrumentality a "second honeymoon" soon. 

Bell, who lives successful New Jersey, was sentenced to much than 2 years successful situation successful November 2023 for participating successful a "blockade," conspiring with different activists astatine a Washington D.C. termination session successful October 2020, according to President Biden's Department of Justice (DOJ). 

PRO-LIFE ACTIVISTS FOUND GUILTY ON CONSPIRACY CHARGES FOR 2020 'RESCUE ACTION' AT DC CLINIC

Joan Bell, 76, (center), is pictured with her religion assemblage and hubby Christopher Bell aft President Donald Trump pardoned her and 22 others Thursday. (Christopher Bell)

Prosecutors from the DOJ's Civil Rights Division and U.S. attorney's bureau for the District of Columbia argued the pro-life activists violated the 1994 FACE Act, a national instrumentality that prohibits carnal force, threats of unit oregon intentionally damaging spot to forestall idiosyncratic from obtaining oregon providing termination services.

The activists were sentenced by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, a Clinton appointee, and instantly detained.

While signing the pardons Thursday, conscionable a time earlier Friday's yearly March for Life rally, Trump said, "They should not person been prosecuted." 

PRO-LIFE PROTESTERS PARDONED BY TRUMP, FOX CONFIRMS

"Many, galore of them are aged people," Trump said successful the Oval Office. "They should not person been prosecuted. This is simply a large grant to motion this. They'll beryllium precise happy."

Bell, on with Paula Paulette Harlow, Jean Marshall and John Hinshaw, were each astir 70 years aged erstwhile they were imprisoned.

"That helium personally knew our lawsuit is truthful touching," Bell said of Trump. "I privation to springiness him a hug."

Attorneys from the Thomas More Society formally requested pardons from the Trump medication earlier this period for the 21 pro-life advocates the instrumentality steadfast was representing. 

President Donald Trump signs documents arsenic helium issues enforcement orders and pardons for Jan. 6 defendants successful the Oval Office astatine the White House connected Inauguration Day successful Washington Jan. 20, 2025. (Reuters/Carlos Barria)

"The heroic peaceful pro-lifers unjustly imprisoned by Biden’s Justice Department volition present beryllium freed and capable to instrumentality location to their families, devour a household repast and bask the state that should person ne'er been taken from them successful the archetypal place," Steve Crampton, elder counsel of the Thomas More Society, said successful a statement. 

"These heroic peaceful pro-lifers were treated shamefully by Biden’s DOJ, with galore of them branded felons and losing galore rights that we instrumentality for granted arsenic American citizens."

In a erstwhile interrogation with Fox News Digital, Crampton said it was hard to find a "fair jury" and that astir of the jurors were either Planned Parenthood donors oregon pro-choice advocates successful the cases. He called Washington, D.C., the "most pro-abortion city successful America." 

"She tin accidental her pro-death words, but we weren't allowed to accidental pro-life words," Bell said of the justice successful the trial. Nonetheless, she said it was much "heartbreaking" to beryllium prosecuted for her spiritual beliefs.

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This week, Trump besides took enactment to pardon implicit 1,000 Jan. 6 rioters who were imprisoned, on with galore different enforcement orders related to migration and cryptocurrency and orders to declassify the MLK and JFK files.

Fox News Digital has reached retired to the DOJ's Civil Rights Division for comment.