5 fetuses found in D.C. home after indictment in clinic blockade

Five fetuses were removed on Wednesday from a Washington, D.C. home reportedly tied to a woman indicted with eight others for obstructing access to an abortion clinic.

Driving the news: Police raided the home on a quiet block of Capitol Hill row houses after a tip about bio-hazardous material in a basement. Police say the fetuses were collected by the D.C. medical examiner on 6th Street SE, police say.

• Lauren Handy, the founder of an anti-abortion rights group who is among the nine indicted, was staying at the home where the fetuses were found, WUSA9 and the Washington Post reported.
• D.C. police are investigating the fetuses, while federal law enforcement is leading the separate case against the nine defendants.

Details: Federal prosecutors allege Handy and eight others worked together in 2020 to “injure, oppress, threaten, and intimidate patients and employees” at a clinic in the District.

• On Oct. 22, 2020, the defendants — most of whom traveled from Massachusetts, New York, and other places — forced entry into the clinic, tripping a nurse and spraining her ankle, prosecutors say.
• They blocked doors with their bodies and with the help of furniture, chains, and ropes, according to the indictment.
• Jonathan Darnel, 40, of Arlington, Virginia then live-streamed the blockade on Facebook, according to prosecutors.
• Handy and Darnel could not be reached for comment.

The FBI is investigating the case. Defendants each face up to 11 years in prison and a fine of up to $350,000.