The Volokh Conspiracy
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Settlement in Heartbeat of Miami v. Jane's Revenge Pro-Life Pregnancy Center Vandalism Lawsuit
The settlement of the civil case follows guilty pleas or convictions in related criminal cases.
The judgment was just entered today, and it provides, in relevant part:
All four Defendants—Caleb Freestone, Amber Marie Smith-Stewart, Annarella Rivera, and Gabriella Victoria Oropesa—are ENJOINED for a period of ten years from coming within 100 feet of the facilities that Plaintiff alleges were victimized in this case: South Broward Pregnancy Help Center in Hollywood, Florida; the Life Choice Pregnancy Center in Winter Haven, Florida; and any of the five facilities owned by Plaintiff. The parties agree to mutual general releases of any claims they may have against any opposing party arising from the same transaction or occurrence as the claims in the operative complaint. Each party shall bear their respective fees and costs.
The clerk must enter a JUDGMENT for the plaintiff and against Defendant Gabriella Victoria Oropesa for $13,000. Defendant Oropesa will pay $1,000 to each of the three facilities (South Broward Pregnancy Help Center, Life Choice Pregnancy Center, and Plaintiff) for a total of $3,000. Defendant Oropesa will pay a $10,000 civil penalty directly to the State of Florida. Defendant Oropesa's $13,000 payment of the civil judgment in the related civil action, No. 8:23-cv-701-SDM-AAS (Related Civil Action), satisfies the judgment in this action. Defendant Oropesa will also, within 30 days of sentencing in her related criminal case, No. 8:23-cr-25-VMC-AEP (Related Criminal Action), send a letter of apology to each facility similar to the apology the other three Defendants made at their sentencing hearing.
The clerk must enter a JUDGMENT for the plaintiff and against Defendants Freestone, Smith-Stewart, and Rivera for a restitution amount of $600.00 jointly and severally, the amount equal to the restitution the trial court ordered Defendants Freestone, Smith-Stewart, and Rivera to pay Plaintiff in the Related Criminal Action. Defendants' payment of the restitution order in the Related Criminal Action satisfies the judgment in this action.
For more on the guilty pleas in related criminal cases, see this June 2024 post; an excerpt:
Three Florida residents pleaded guilty today to conspiring to injure, oppress, threaten or intimidate employees of pregnancy resource centers in the free exercise of the right to provide and seek to provide reproductive health services. The defendants selected reproductive health facilities that provided and counseled abortion alternatives and vandalized those facilities with threatening messages.
According to court documents, between May and July 2022, Caleb Freestone, Amber Smith-Stewart and Annarella Rivera engaged in a series of targeted attacks on pro-life pregnancy help centers in Florida. The defendants admitted they participated in the attack in the dark of night and, while wearing masks and dark clothing to obscure their identities, 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."
The fourth defendant (Gabriella Victoria Oropesa) was convicted in December, though she is still challenging the conviction.
