No stranger to controversy, U.S. Rep. Scott Perry has grabbed his 15 minutes of pre-State of the Union fame by inviting Pennsylvania anti-abortion activist Mark Houck as his guest for President Joe Biden’s speech to Congress.
Houck, 48, of Kintnersville, became a cause celebre in conservative circles last year after his arrest by federal agents last September following indictment by a federal grand jury of twice assaulting a volunteer patient escort at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Philadelphia in October 2021.
The indictment states Houck shoved the 72-year-old escort, who fell and needed medical attention for unspecified injuries, and Houck was charged with violations of a federal law protecting access to abortion clinics.
In a trial in federal court last month, Houck was acquitted of all charges, and his case has been held up by anti-abortion groups and some conservative leaders as a case study of the Biden Administration’s weaponization of federal law enforcement against conservatives.
Perry, who has made similar claims - especially after his cell phone was seized by federal agents in August - amplified the point Tuesday, tweeting out:
“Privileged to welcome my SOTU guest, Mark Houck, an innocent victim of @POTUS‘s reprehensible abuse of power, whose only “crime” was to use his God-given constitutional rights to protect his family, faith, and way of life. @POTUS should see the faces of those he seeks to destroy.”
Justice Department officials attributed the rise in prosecutions under the abortion clinic access law — 26 last year, compared with four in 2021 — to a rise in violent incidents outside abortion clinics nationwide after U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning the Roe v. Wade decision.
The lightning-rod Congressman from northern York County’s lightning-rod invite drew scathing responses from pro-choice activists.
“Patients deserve safe access to abortion, and violent extremists like Mark Houck threaten Planned Parenthood’s ability to provide care,” Planned Parenthood PA’s Executive Director Signe Espinoza sadi in a statement after Perry announced his choice.
“Congressman Scott Perry is celebrating violence outside of our clinics by inviting Houck to be his State of the Union guest. Patients, including patients who rely on Planned Parenthood for sexual and reproductive health care, deserve better.”
“Thankfully, Pennsylvania has other representation in Washington that understands the importance of abortion care and reducing its stigma,” Espinoza continued.
Mark Houck is founder and president of The King’s Men, which promotes healing for victims of pornography addiction and promotes Christian virtues among men in the United States and Europe.
His wife told news outlets after Houck’s arrest that he had been making weekly “sidewalk counseling” visits to two clinics in the Philadelphia clinic before the incident occurred.
According to The Philadelphia Inquirer’s coverage of the case nearby security cameras showed patient escort Bruce Love approaching Houck and his son on a street corner near the clinic. The two men aggressively exchanged words before Houck shoved Love, sending the older man reeling to the ground, where he scraped his elbow and bruised his palms.
Ryan-Marie Houck, in her interview, maintained her husband was reacting to protect the couple’s 12-year-old son, who had accompanied him to the clinic that day, when the alleged assault occurred. She said the clinic escort had said “crude” things to the boy and “kind of came into [the son’s] personal space.”