Paul Vaughn’s confrontation with the federal government began before sunrise, when FBI agents arrived at the Tennessee home he shared with his wife and children. Nearly four years later, the Christian anti-abortion activist says at least one chapter of that ordeal has finally come to an end.
Vaughn, a father of 11, has reached a settlement with the Department of Justice following his prosecution under the Biden administration over his involvement in a 2021 protest at an abortion facility in Tennessee.
The Thomas More Society, which represented Vaughn, announced the settlement and described it as “long-overdue justice” for Vaughn and his family.
According to the organization, Vaughn’s activities during the protest included “praying, singing hymns, and peacefully protesting.” Federal authorities subsequently prosecuted him under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, commonly known as the FACE Act.
The case became particularly controversial because of the manner in which Vaughn was arrested.
FBI agents came to his home during a predawn raid in October 2022, an experience Vaughn and his attorneys have described as frightening for his family. The Thomas More Society has maintained that the government’s response was wildly disproportionate to Vaughn’s conduct.
“This family did nothing wrong. Paul prayed and sang. He bore witness to his faith and for that, the full weight of the federal government was brought crashing down on his front door before the sun rose,” Thomas More Society senior counsel Steve Crampton said.
“What was done to Paul and his family was a profound injustice, and we are grateful that this settlement acknowledges that.”
Vaughn was eventually convicted in January 2024 of violating the FACE Act and conspiring against rights. His legal battle, however, changed dramatically after Donald Trump returned to the White House.
“This chapter is finally closed, and our family looks forward with gratitude and hope, as we continue to serve God, advocating for the most vulnerable among us without fear,” reacts Paul Vaughn, TMS client.
Learn more about Paul’s story here: https://t.co/4PNgHFQ0Kd pic.twitter.com/pAT129H0uY
— Thomas More Society (@ThomasMoreSoc) July 29, 2026
Just days into his second term, Trump pardoned Vaughn and 22 other defendants convicted in cases involving anti-abortion demonstrations, while commuting another defendant’s sentence. The move effectively ended their federal criminal consequences and fulfilled Trump’s promise to address prosecutions of anti-abortion activists under the previous administration.
For Vaughn, the pardon restored something that had been damaged since the morning federal agents arrived at his house: his legal standing and, in his view, his good name.
The settlement now provides another measure of closure.
Crampton praised the current Justice Department for reconsidering the actions taken under the Biden administration.
“We also commend the Trump Department of Justice for having the courage to look at what its predecessor did, call it what it was — an abuse of power — and change course,” he said.
“No American should ever again have to fear an FBI raid for praying and offering hope to women in need.”
The FACE Act prohibits the use or threat of force, physical obstruction, and intentional property damage intended to interfere with someone obtaining or providing reproductive health services. It also contains protections involving places of religious worship.
Enforcement of the law became a major political issue during the Biden administration as federal prosecutors pursued a series of cases against anti-abortion activists. Critics argued that the government was using federal law aggressively against protesters motivated by their religious opposition to abortion. The Justice Department maintained in its prosecutions that defendants were being charged for conduct violating federal law rather than for their religious or political beliefs.
Vaughn’s case became one of the most prominent examples in that debate, in large part because images and descriptions of the FBI arrest drew attention well beyond Tennessee.
For his family, however, the controversy was never merely an abstract argument about federal enforcement policy.
“My family has been through a traumatic ordeal that never should have happened,” Vaughn said following the settlement. “But today brings an end to this portion of the story.”
He also thanked officials in the current Justice Department for reconsidering how his family had been treated.
“I am grateful to the members of this Department of Justice who were willing to look honestly at what the prior administration did to our family and so many others and attempt to make it right,” Vaughn said.
He specifically credited Trump for issuing the pardon, the Thomas More Society for defending him, and supporters who prayed for his family throughout the case.
The settlement does not erase what happened in the years between the FBI’s arrival at Vaughn’s home and his presidential pardon. It does, however, mark a dramatically different outcome from the one Vaughn faced after his conviction, when the father of 11 was looking at the possibility of significant federal punishment.
Now the prosecution, pardon, and subsequent settlement have brought that legal fight to its latest endpoint.
“This chapter is finally closed,” Vaughn said, “and our family looks forward with gratitude and hope, as we continue to serve God, advocating for the most vulnerable among us without fear.”
