Pro-life groups are crying foul over an FBI investigation into a rash of violence against Christian churches and pro-life organizations that has yielded no arrests since the bureau began its inquiry last June.
The Washington, D.C.-based Family Research Council (FRC) has documented more than 100 instances of violence against pro-life organizations and churches since a leak of a Supreme Court draft opinion that signaled Roe v. Wade would be overturned became public on May 2. The high court, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, released its ruling overturning Roe on June 24.
The attacks included the firebombing of pro-life pregnancy centers in Madison, Wisconsin; Buffalo, New York; and Gresham, Oregon. The militant pro-abortion group Jane’s Revenge has claimed responsibility for many of those attacks.
The FBI has announced no arrests related to the attacks, adding in a statement to FRC that it is “continuing to investigate.”
The Washington Stand, FRC’s news journal, reported that in 2022, the Justice Department arrested 26 pro-lifers on charges of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE). The Clinton-era law was “barely used in 2020 and 2021,” according to a Fox News report. The 26 arrests in 2022 represent a 550% increase for FACE-related arrests compared to 2021.
“It appears that the FBI’s investigative priorities lie elsewhere,” wrote The Washington Stand’s Dan Hart.
Daniel Tomlinson, community relations director for CompassCare in Buffalo, New York, told FRC President Tony Perkins in a Jan. 5 interview that Jane’s Revenge is an “abortion terrorist group.” The firebombing of CompassCare on June 7 caused more than a half-million dollars in damage, and two firefighters were injured during the emergency response. The group has partnered with the Thomas More Society to launch an independent investigation into the attacks.
“It’s been 161 days and no arrests have been made,” Tomlinson said “… Nobody has been arrested for any of these attacks across the nation.” He says his organization has had to increase security while the threats continue nationwide. He also decried pro-abortion politicians like Elizabeth Warren, who has argued that pro-life centers should be shut down for “torturing women.”
One of the latest attacks occurred Dec. 17 in Eastpointe, Michigan, near Detroit. The perpetrators sprayed the Pregnancy Aid Detroit building with graffiti that said “Liars,” “Fake Clinic” and “Jane’s Revenge.” They also broke windows at the home of a Pregnancy Aid Detroit board member and sprayed the message “If Abortions Aren’t Safe, Neither Are You” on the garage and driveway.
