Randall Terry

Randall Terry is an anti-abortion activist and perennial political candidate who founded the organization Operation Rescue. Throughout his career, he has been arrested more than 40 times and has spent over a year in various prisons for acts of civil disobedience related to his protests. Notable legal and financial controversies include: In 1989, Terry was sentenced to two years in jail by a Fulton County, Georgia, judge after being convicted of criminal trespass and unlawful assembly. He was offered the option to pay a $1,000 fine to avoid prison but refused. In 1993, he was sentenced to five months in prison for criminal contempt. A federal judge found that Terry violated an injunction by allowing his followers to display a fetus to Bill Clinton during the 1992 Democratic National Convention. In 1994, Terry was a defendant in a class-action suit, NOW v. Scheidler, brought by the National Organization for Women. He settled out of court but subsequently filed for bankruptcy to avoid paying legal fines and damages, which totaled $1.6 million by 1998. Terry has faced various other controversies, including allegations of being a deadbeat regarding child support, public criticism over the use of donations for a $432,000 home, and internal conflicts that led to his ouster from Operation Rescue in the early 2000s.