McGuire’s Case Highlights the Growing Threat to Religious Freedom and Pro-Life Advocacy
Livingston County, NY – July 31, 2025 — A key ally of the Pennsylvania Family Institute has just begun serving a jail sentence following what is clearly a politically motivated investigation targeting his pro-family, pro-life convictions.
Jason J. McGuire, Executive Director of New York Families Foundation and New York Families Action, counterpart organizations to PA Family Institute in the Empire State, was sentenced last Friday to eight weekends in the Livingston County Jail. The sentence comes after a years-long investigation launched by New York Attorney General Letitia James, based on what McGuire says was an unfounded 2018 complaint filed by a political rival.
While the charges ultimately stemmed from three minor campaign finance reporting omissions and were unrelated to his work at New York Families Foundation, McGuire pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors after legal counsel warned that a trial could cost over $250,000.
“Letitia James weaponized her office to target me because I dared to speak against her radical, pro-abortion policies,” McGuire said in a statement. “For more than three years, her office harassed my family, my staff, and my ministry, demanding donor lists, monitoring bank accounts, and threatening my wife.”
The scope of the Attorney General’s probe was staggering: over 7,000 pages of documents were submitted, and McGuire was compelled to turn over sermon recordings and confidential donor lists. This was an attack not just on a person, but on religious liberty and the right of conscience for ministries and churches across the state.
Rather than drain critical resources fighting an aggressive prosecution, McGuire accepted a plea agreement. “But make no mistake, this is not justice. It’s political retribution,” he said.
Perhaps most troubling, the Attorney General’s office released a statement accusing McGuire of “lining his own pockets”. This is a claim his attorney labeled libelous and demanded be retracted. To date, the AG’s office has refused to correct the record.
The Board of Directors of New York Families Foundation strongly condemned the AG’s conduct, calling the investigation “a politically motivated effort to harass a conservative leader who had boldly spoken out against New York’s anti-life and anti-family policies.”
In an official statement, the Board added:
“Contrary to the OAG’s misstatements, the Board believes that the recent legal proceedings involving Jason were improper and that Jason did not engage in any deliberate wrongdoing. Jason continues to enjoy the Board’s full support.”
McGuire began serving his sentence on July 26. In a video message shared ahead of his first weekend in jail, he remained resolute:
“I will serve these weekends in jail, but I will not be silent. I will not stop defending life, marriage, parental rights, and religious liberty in New York. If anything, this only strengthens my resolve.”
For nearly two decades, McGuire has led New York Families Foundation, one of PA Family Institute’s closest allies in the Northeast. Like PA Family, NYFamilies Foundation is committed to promoting and defending biblical truth in public life, equipping Christians to stand firm for life, religious freedom, parental rights, and the sanctity of marriage.
We Stand Together
We recently shared how New York Families Foundation has been courageously standing against dangerous policies like physician-assisted suicide in Albany. These are battles that often preview what’s next for us here in Pennsylvania. Jason McGuire and his team are our direct counterparts in New York, and their fight is our fight.
Jason’s radio broadcasts are heard on Christian stations throughout New York, and his weekly updates mobilize thousands of believers across the state. As attacks on ministries like New York Families Foundation escalate, the need for solidarity among organizations like PA Family Institute and our supporters has never been greater.
This case is more than a legal battle—it’s a test of faith and a warning of the price that can come with standing for truth in today’s cultural and political climate. But McGuire’s courage reminds us what’s at stake—and why we must never back down.
“We will not be deterred,” the New York Families Foundation stated. “This is not the end of Jason’s ministry—it’s a new chapter. One that underscores the cost of standing for truth, and the importance of courage in a time of increasing hostility to biblical values.”
McGuire’s case should sound an alarm for pro-family and pro-life Pennsylvanians and is a reminder that elections have consequences.
We Must Remain Vigilant
It’s why vigilance at the ballot box is essential. Just one election can shift the balance of power toward those who use their authority to punish conviction instead of uphold truth. We must elect leaders who govern from objective truth and stand in defense of life and family. His situation mirrors the growing pressure we have seen across the nation: state officials using their power to target those who speak up for biblical values.
As McGuire serves his weekends behind bars, we ask our Pennsylvania Family community to pray for Jason and his family, and to stay alert, engaged, and ready to stand for our shared values here at home.
McGuire: Truth Always Prevails
