Opinion | The author's opinion does not necessarily reflect Sarah Palin's view.
Calvin Zastrow, a 63-year-old Christian man, has commenced a six-month prison sentence after being involved in a non-violent pro-life demonstration outside an abortion clinic in Tennessee.
He and others were convicted of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, although the protest involved no violence, merely civil disobedience.
Zastrow aims to continue evangelizing during his time in Federal Correctional Institute Thomson, despite its notorious reputation for violence and sexual misconduct.
“I’m praying to be able to witness for Christ. If I’m miserable there and can’t sleep well, then I’ll just suffer with honor for Jesus,” Zastrow said. “But if I’m able to get sleep and be healthy, I’m just going to see who the Lord wants me to minister to and be ministered to by.”
“I’m here to declare the glories of Christ and his kingdom,” Zastrow added. “I’m just here to do that. I’m just going let all the demons in hell know that they’re on notice.”
FCI Thomson, where Zastrow is headed, is reportedly plagued by sexual misconduct. Prison staff submitted 275 incident reports in 2022.
“Calvin Zastrow … is a peaceful man with a deep love for others and for his country. He has dedicated his life to peacefully interposing on behalf of innocent children in the womb who face imminent violence – indeed, death,” Thomas More Society senior counsel Steve Crampton said.
“The injustice of sentencing such a man of peace to perhaps the most violent federal penitentiary in the nation is hard to fathom. But it underscores the blind allegiance of the Biden-Harris administration to the abortion industry and their unbridled zeal to crush the pro-life movement,” Crampton added.
Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris criticized former President Trump for allegedly threatening to imprison dissenters.
Trump “talked about locking people up because they disagree with him,” Vice President recently said of Trump.
“This is a democracy,” she added, “And in a democracy, the president of the United States, in the United States of America, should be willing to be able to handle criticism without saying he’d lock people up for doing it.”
