Herb Geraghty

Herb Geraghty, an atheist pro-life activist, was among several defendants convicted in the District of Columbia for their roles in the October 22, 2020 blockade of the Washington Surgi-Clinic, a late-term abortion facility in Washington, D.C. According to prosecutors, Geraghty assisted co-defendant Lauren Handy in planning the blockade, in which participants entered the clinic and used chairs, chains, and ropes to block the entrance and prevent staff from providing and patients from receiving reproductive health services; a nurse sustained an ankle injury during the entry. A jury found in August 2023 that Geraghty used force or violence against clinic employees, or aided and abetted co-defendants in doing so. Geraghty was convicted of conspiracy against rights (18 U.S.C. § 241) and violation of the FACE Act (18 U.S.C. § 248), making Geraghty the first openly atheist defendant indicted and convicted under the FACE Act.