Cooper City woman convicted of targeting pro-life pregnancy help centers
WASHINGTON – A Cooper City woman is facing sentencing after being convicted of conspiracy to injure, oppress, threaten or intimidate employees of pro-life pregnancy help centers in Florida.
On Dec. 19, Gabriella Oropesa was found guilty.in the federal Middle District of Florida. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 19, 2025, and she faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for the conspiracy charge.
The defendant and her co-conspirators selected reproductive health facilities that provided and counseled alternatives to abortion and vandalized those facilities with threatening messages, prosecutors said. Caleb Freestone, Amber Stewart-Smith and Annarella Rivera previously for their participation in the conspiracy as members of a group known as Jane's Revenge.
Targeted places were Heartbeat of Miami, Archdiocese of Miami's Respect Life center in Hollywood, the Pregnancy Help Medical Clinics in Hialeah and LifeChoice Pregnancy Center in Winter Haven.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, between May 2022 and July 2022, the four defednants engaged in a series of targeted attacks on pro-life pregnancy help centers. At night while wearing masks and dark clothing to obscure their identities, they spray painted the facilities with threatening messages, including "If abortions aren't safe than niether [sic] are you," "YOUR TIME IS UP!!," "WE'RE COMING for U" and "We are everywhere," prosecutors said.
"The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act is clear: no one should have to face threats and intimidation just for doing their job," said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. "The Justice Department will continue to ensure access to the full spectrum of reproductive health services afforded to the public, whether those services include abortion or counseling on alternatives to abortion."
"Federal law protects providers who render reproductive health care and those who seek their services," U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg for the Middle District of Florida said. "Threats of violence against pregnancy resource centers or those exercising their rights to care will not be tolerated."
The FBI Tampa Field Office investigated the case, with assistance from the Polk County Sheriff's Office, and Winter Haven, Hialeah and Hollywood Police Departments.