DETROIT—Eva Edl, an 89-year-old survivor of a communist concentration camp, could face over a decade in prison if convicted this week on f...
DETROIT—Eva Edl, an 89-year-old survivor of a communist concentration camp, could face over a decade in prison if convicted this week on federal conspiracy charges over her participation in several pro-life protests at two Michigan abortion facilities.
Edl, a devout Christian who was imprisoned in Yugoslavia in the 1940s, was accused by the Biden administration in February 2023 of conspiring to deny patrons of an abortion clinic their constitutional rights. Edl was one of several participants in peaceful protests at two Michigan abortion facilities in 2020 and 2021. Jury selection for the trial for Edl and six co-defendants began Tuesday at the Theodore Levin courthouse in Detroit.
Her co-defendants also charged in the conspiracy are Cal Zastrow, Chester Gallagher, Heather Idoni, Joel Curry, Justin Phillips, and Eva Zastrow.
Edl and her co-defendants are also charged with violating the FACE Act, a Clinton-era law guaranteeing entry to abortion facilities. The conspiracy charge could land each of them in federal prison for up to 10.5 years and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.
The charges stem from a peaceful demonstration where the group sat and stood outside of the Northland Family Planning Clinic in Sterling, Michigan alongside a group of other pro-life activists. Edl and Idoni face an additional charge for a pro-life protest the two of them attended at the Women’s Health Clinic in Saginaw, Michigan.
Judge Matthew Leitman, an Obama appointee, is overseeing the trial. He said on Tuesday that the trial entailed “very high stakes for both sides” and “could conceivably last a few weeks.”
The Justice Department objected to Zastrow wearing a “Jesus is Lord” pin on his shirt, but Leitman allowed him to keep the pin on.
Despite the serious nature of the charges, Edl was in good spirits when speaking with The Daily Wire on Tuesday night during a gathering of over three dozen pro-lifers at Christ Community Church in Roseville, Michigan. They gathered to pray and sing Christian hymns like “Holy, Holy, Holy” and “Tis So Sweet To Trust in Jesus.”
When asked how she was feeling about the upcoming trial, Edl pointed to her faith.
“It doesn’t matter how it turns out, God wins in the end,” she told The Daily Wire. She also pointed to the cross necklace she had around her neck, saying it was the same necklace she wore when she and her family were rounded up by the forces of Yugoslavian communist dictator Josip Broz Tito because they belonged to the Danube Swabians ethnic group.
Edl was convicted of a misdemeanor FACE Act charge in Tennessee earlier this year, but has yet to be sentenced due to the Michigan trial. When asked how she is able to keep up with the barrage of legal fees she has faced in recent years, she said that “God supplies.”
During the Tuesday night gathering, Edl prayed that God would be “glorified” through the trial and that the nation would be healed.
Edl told the Daily Signal earlier this year that she thinks she may end up dying in prison if convicted.
“When I was indicted, I began to prepare to die there,” she said. “Right now, I am ambivalent. … I’m doing the best I can to get ready. Haven’t talked to a funeral director yet.”
Zastrow prayed that the courts would “recognize the humanity, the personhood of all preborn children” and that the group could help and love others. He also said that the “DOJ had pulled out the big guns and the long knives” for the trial.
In a novel prosecution technique, the Biden administration has brought felony conspiracy charges against pro-lifers across the country from Tennessee to Washington, D.C. Sentences for the pro-lifers have ranged anywhere from six months to over five years in prison.
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