Monday I wrote about the arson case at the offices of a pro-life group in Madison, Wisconsin. Police determined that someone had thrown a Molotov cocktail at the building which didn’t ignite but then broke windows and set fire inside an office. The people responsible also spray painted “If abortions aren’t safe than you aren’t either” on the outside of the building.
I saw a lot of people on Twitter speculating that this attack might have been a “false flag,” i.e. that some pro-lifers had carried out the attack to make their opponents look bad. But there are lots of reasons to believe this was a real attack. For one thing, someone allegedly took credit for the attack yesterday by sending a letter to a left-wing reporter.
The statement was sent to me through an anonymous intermediary I trust. It is hosted on a Tor site (link to follow). The statement is titled “first communique” and opens with the words, “This is not a declaration of war”.https://t.co/5ZhcDHiA7A pic.twitter.com/9Y0d03mXoq
— Robert Evans (The Only Robert Evans) (@IwriteOK) May 10, 2022
NPR did a story about the Jane collective last week. The letter goes on to threaten “increasingly extreme tactics” and claims the group is “all over the US.”
They are issuing a 30 day ultimatum for all anti choice organizations and fake clinics (crisis pregnancy centers) to disband. They claim to have the ability to reach multiple states and repeat that the attack in Wisconsin was just a “warning”
— Robert Evans (The Only Robert Evans) (@IwriteOK) May 10, 2022
I have not had any direct contact with people claiming to be members of this group or to have been responsible for this attack. The source who sent this to me has a reputation for extreme reliability.
Here is the Tor link to their statement: https://t.co/5ZhcDH1x5A
— Robert Evans (The Only Robert Evans) (@IwriteOK) May 10, 2022
Evans says of the arson attack in Madison, “I would be very surprised if this was not a legitimate attack.” Madison police say they are investigating the claims:
On Tuesday, the Madison Police Department said in an emailed statement it is aware of these recent claims.
“(We) are working with our federal partners to determine the veracity of that claim. We take all information and tips related to this case seriously and are working to vet each and every one,” the statement said.
At this point there’s no proof that a group calling itself Jane’s Revenge exists or that they have a master plan to continue these attacks. This “communique” could be the equivalent of a bomb threat made in such away that it appears more secretive and more threatening than it might if they had simply left it by voice mail.
If anything I’m inclined toward this view because there is already a pattern of attacks on pro-life groups across the US and the Jane’s Revenge letter doesn’t seem to take credit for them or even to be aware of them. Less than 24 hours after the arson in Madison, Wisconsin, someone threw Molotov cocktails at a right-to-life office in Keizer, Oregon.
Investigators said someone unsuccessfully tried to break a window at the Oregon Right to Life building off River Road North around 10:40 p.m. Then they lit two Molotov cocktails and threw them at the brick building, causing a small fire.
Trevor Lane, spokesperson for Oregon Right to Life, told the Salem Reporter that a small heating unit in the front office was damaged and some foliage burned.
A Crisis Pregnancy Center in Portland was also vandalized:
BREAKING: Antifa pro-abort men are attacking and putting out hits on pregnancy centers in Portland, OR. Because it drives pro-abort men to violent rage to think that women will have support to choose life. pic.twitter.com/Oomlr6EGUg
— Lila Rose (@LilaGraceRose) May 5, 2022
That vandalism happened last Thursday morning:
Portland Police Bureau spokesperson Terri Wallo Strauss told Snopes in an email that police had one report matching the type of incident Rose tweeted about, but have not made public any descriptions of those involved.
Just before 1 a.m. on May 5, 2022, a group of people vandalized a crisis pregnancy center in the 5100 block of Southeast Powell Boulevard, per Wallo Strauss. The group broke windows and scrawled graffiti. Police are asking the public for tips in the investigation.
And still that’s just the start of the vandalism aimed at pro-life organizations in the past week. A pregnancy center in Denton, Texas was vandalized by a lone woman over the weekend:
The Loreto House in Denton shared surveillance video with FOX 4 that shows what appears to be a young woman spray painting the outside of the building and then spraying the surveillance camera.
On Saturday, people who work at the center found the phrases “forced birth is murder” and “not a clinic” on the building.
Some photos of the graffiti:
Pro-Abortion vandalism in Denton, Tx against a place that helps pregnant women because abortion IS and always will be Violence!
We will double down in our commitment to abolish this evil and return protection to all humans. #NotIntimidated pic.twitter.com/ggAUZNz8Fd
— Carole Novielli (@CaroleNovielli) May 7, 2022
A pregnancy center in Manassas, Virginia got the same treatment:
Unfortunately, a Pregnacy Resource Center in Northern Virginia was vandalized last night.
This charity lovingly provides support & practical supplies to women no matter what they decide. And yet, they’re targeted with hate, intimidation and destruction. Sad! pic.twitter.com/E1U2Jro1YC
— Rev. Dean Nelson (@RevDeanNelson) May 9, 2022
A pregnancy center in Frederick, Maryland was vandalized as well.
Staff arrived at work on May 4 at another pregnancy center, Care Net in Frederick, Maryland, to see graffiti covering the building. The red and black graffiti read, “Fake clinic … end forced motherhood … abortion is a human right.”
If Roe is overturned, Maryland will continue to allow abortion up to viability, and for a woman’s life or health after viability. A donor to the center who owns a construction company had the graffiti painted over by late afternoon. Inside, the center was hosting a healing class for post-abortive women.
“It’s disturbing and unnerving,” said executive director Linda King. “We are a real clinic, we have all the licensures required by the state, our doctor is a licensed ob-gyn in the state of Maryland.”
Here’s an image of that graffiti:
The headquarters of Concerned Women for America received a different type of vandalism.
In a video, an unidentified man is shown ripping the organization’s intercom system from the exterior entrance and making inappropriate gestures to the camera multiple times before unzipping his pants to urinate on the door and windows…
In an interview with Fox News Digital, CWA President and CEO Penny Nance said the man is a “leftist activist” and has a history of taunting CWA staff.
“This has been an ongoing issue, but unfortunately, it’s escalated,” Nance said. “This is an activist who has made it very clear that he doesn’t like our position on the issue of life and other issues, including the idea that biological women matter. For the last few weeks, he has harassed our staff, he’s thrown things at our building, and he’s thrown things on cars inside our secure parking area. But it escalated this weekend.”
Images of the damage:
Concerned Women for America Speak out after office trashed by pro-death Biden minion https://t.co/l2LfUCmB55
— Vicki McKenna (@VickiMcKenna) May 11, 2022
A Catholic Church in Boulder, Colorado had its doors painted with the slogan “My body my choice.” And a Catholic church in Houston had the message “Pro-choice is pro-life” painted on its doors. That was just one of three churches vandalized in the area.
So there’s clearly a surge in vandalism, from graffiti up to broken windows and even arson aimed at pro-life organizations over the past week. But I don’t think there’s any clear evidence this activity is being organized by anyone, at least not yet. Jane’s Revenge would have had a more convincing letter if they’d mentioned some of these other attacks and claimed credit for them but they didn’t do that.
Still, the trend is not a good one and is another reason why protests at the homes of the justices seems like a bad idea. So far, the White House is trying to walk a very fine line on this.
.@POTUS strongly believes in the Constitutional right to protest. But that should never include violence, threats, or vandalism. Judges perform an incredibly important function in our society, and they must be able to do their jobs without concern for their personal safety.
— Jen Psaki (@PressSec) May 9, 2022
Yesterday, Psaki noted that protests at the justices’ homes have been “peaceful to date” and said she continued to encourage that. I think she meant she continued to encourage the protests remain peaceful but it wound up sounding like she was encouraging the protests themselves.
‘I know that there’s an outrage right now…about protests that have been peaceful to date…but the silence is pretty deafening about all the other intimidation that we’ve seen’ — Jen Psaki highlights GOP hypocrisy when asked to comment on protests regarding Roe v. Wade pic.twitter.com/larzWcaDpm
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) May 10, 2022
