Pro-life activist Elise Ketch speaks on FBI agents visiting moms house
Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising member Elise Ketch spoke to Fox News Digital about the FBI allegedly targeting pro-life organizations and activists.
Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising member Elise Ketch called out the "coordinated onslaught" of the FBI against the pro-life movement after two agents visited her mother’s house in April.
On Wednesday, the Daily Signal released Ring doorbell footage of two FBI agents arriving at Ketch’s childhood home in Virginia requesting to speak with her. When Ketch’s mother asked for the reason behind the visit, they only stated that it involved "information" sent to them, but that Ketch was "not in any trouble."
Describing the situation to Fox News Digital, Ketch said there was "a little bit of panic, but it wasn't surprising."
"It's another attack on the pro-life movement because these are our frontline workers. These are the people that are helping women who are in crisis," she said. "And they are an active threat to the abortion industry as well. They take away business and money, and we're all very profit-driven in the abortion industry. So I think that the FBI doesn't want to see pregnancy centers succeed. A lot of governments don't even see them as legitimate health centers."
Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising activist Elise Ketch spoke to Fox News Digital (Fox News Digital)
She added, "I think altogether there's like a coordinated onslaught on them because they are so effective in preventing abortions."
Ketch remarked that her mother’s house was likely targeted as a way to intimidate her and her organization rather than an earnest attempt to reach out to her.
"I think my mom's house was specifically targeted because I feel like they should…if they're really an intelligence agency, they should have known by now that I moved and that I'm living here in Washington, D.C. That's not a secret. So it only makes sense to me that they went to my mom's house just to intimidate me family and to intimidate me. It really does. At the end of the day, it feels like a threat, but at the same time, like an empty one," Ketch said.
The FBI’s visit followed the controversial arrest of pro-life activist Mark Houck outside his Pennsylvania home in September. Approximately 25 armed officers pounded on his front door and, according to Houck’s wife, "raided" their home and brought Houck out in "shackles" in front of their seven children.
Pro-Life demonstrators walking on the national mall during 2023 March for Life (Brooke Curto/Fox News Digital)
House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, also detailed reports from FBI whistleblowers on Thursday that revealed pro-life groups were among those who were targeted to "inflate" the threat of domestic terrorism.
"If you're a parent attending a school board meeting; if you're a pro-lifer praying at a clinic, or you're a Catholic simply going to Mass, you are a target of the government, a target of the FBI," Jordan said.
Ketch similarly accused the federal government of targeting pro-lifers in an effort to protect the abortion industry.
"I think we're a challenge to institutional and corporate power, especially because the abortion industrial complex is a major pillar of power. It's the status quo. The government and our country, frankly, doesn't know how to run without child killing. So here we are. They really don't want us to topple that pillar for them. We're definitely a threat to the government. So I think they have a major interest in targeting pro-lifers," Ketch said.
In response to future potential targeting of pro-lifers, Ketch remained optimistic and hoped her experience can inspire others.
The FBI seal is displayed on a podium before a news conference at the agency's headquarters in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
"But what should we do about them is just keep making them public. If we keep saying this is happening and documenting it whenever we can, we can show that there's a coordinated trend and that this isn't just a conspiracy. This is actually happening, and we are actually actively being targeted by this administration. So I hope that the pro-lifers who see my video will learn from it what to say," she said.
She advised others who are approached by the FBI to have legal representation before talking to the law enforcement agency.
"You have the right ot remain silent and don't compromise yourselves," she advised. "Just make sure you have proper legal representation and then get that documentation and get it out to the public so that we can all be aware. Safety in numbers, you know."
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Fox News Digital reached out ot he FBI for comment, but they declined.