Republican Senators Demand Federal Law Enforcement Work to Prevent Violence Against Pro-Life and Faith-Based Organizations

Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) is one of 16 Republican senators who joined in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland Tuesday that calls for federal law enforcement to investigate acts of violence against organizations working to protect the unborn and to prevent future such acts.

The letter follows one written by Johnson in May to Garland, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray, and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, in which the senator asked the Biden federal officials why the violent attack on the Wisconsin Family Action office in Madison has not been identified as an act of “domestic terrorism.”

Johnson wrote:

According to news reports, the attackers threw a Molotov cocktail into the Wisconsin Family Action Madison office and painted “if abortions aren’t safe then you aren’t either” on the building. A pro-abortion group called “Jane’s Revenge” claimed responsibility for the attack, stating “This was only a warning… next time the infrastructure of the enslavers will not survive. . . Wisconsin is the first flashpoint, but we are all over the US, and we will issue no further warnings.” However, to date, President Biden has made no public remarks, and neither the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), nor the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have issued a statement condemning this attack.

“I am unfortunately compelled to write to you about this matter because DOJ has a track record of not prosecuting left-wing violence as we have seen with the summer of 2020 riots that occurred nationwide,” Johnson asserted.

According to a press release Tuesday from Johnson’s office, the senator received no response to that letter from Garland, Wray, or Mayorkas.

“We are deeply concerned that this trend will continue should the Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade in the coming weeks unless the Department of Justice, the FBI, and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices take a firm public stance and proactive response against these violent threats,” the Republican senators wrote.

“The criminal acts perpetrated against those who oppose legalized abortion are a clear effort to intimidate or coerce individuals who hold pro-life values,” the senators stated. “We call on the Department of Justice to take these actions seriously and work to prevent violence and, when such acts are perpetrated, investigate and prosecute them as appropriate.”

Joining Johnson in the letter are: Senators Jerry Moran (KS), Steve Daines (MT), Roger Wicker (MS), Roger Marshall (KS), Mike Crapo (ID), John Boozman (AK), Deb Fischer (NE), Joni Ernst (IA), James Risch (ID), Jim Inhofe (OK), Ted Cruz (TX), John Thune (SD), Cindy Hyde-Smith (MS), James Lankford (OK), and Mike Braun (IN).

The letter from the Republican senators comes the same day DHS released a National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin regarding a  continued ”heightened threat environment” across the United States.

The bulletin addresses the issue of the case before the Supreme Court that could ultimately return decisions about abortion access to individual states, but does not address the specific acts already committed against pro-life organizations:

Given a high-profile U.S. Supreme Court case about abortion rights, individuals who advocate both for and against abortion have, on public forums, encouraged violence, including against government, religious, and reproductive healthcare personnel and facilities, as well as those with opposing ideologies.

DHS states that, “in the coming months” it “expects the threat environment to become more dynamic as several high-profile events could be exploited to justify acts of violence against a range of possible targets.”

“These targets could include public gatherings, faith-based institutions, schools, racial, ethnic, and religious minorities, government facilities and personnel, U.S. critical infrastructure, the media, and perceived ideological opponents,” the agency added.

Tuesday saw another violent attack against a pro-life pregnancy center in Buffalo, New York.

“Windows in the CompassCare reception room and nurses’ office were reportedly broken and fires lit,” a report at American Greatness noted.

“Jane’s Revenge, the same militant pro-abortion group that firebombed a pro-life office in Wisconsin last month, reportedly took credit for the attack, leaving graffiti reading ‘Jane Was Here’ on the building,” the report continued, adding that, despite the fact that Jane’s Revenge took credit for the attack, no arrests were made.

Jane’s Revenge released a statement at the end of May, from a website called The Anarchist Library, that called for a “Night of Rage” should Roe v. Wade be overturned:

On the night the final ruling is issued——a specific date we cannot yet predict, but we know is arriving imminently——we are asking for courageous hearts to come out after dark.

Whoever you are and wherever you are, we are asking for you to do what you can to make your anger known.

We have selected a time of 8pm for actions nationwide to begin, but know that this is a general guideline. There may be other considerations involved in planning time and place. We do not claim to speak for every community or crew. We are simply calling out to you. And we hope you answer our cries.

To the cis male allies who would be interested in joining us in the streets, we say: you are certainly welcome, but you must use your privilege to shield and support us in a way that also enables us to get angry. Do not police us. Do not tell us what is and isn’t appropriate. But do aid us when we are in need.

“We need the state to feel our full wrath,” Jane’s Revenge wrote. We need to express this madness fully and with ferocity. We need to quit containing ourselves. We need them to be afraid of us.”

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Susan Berry, PhD, is national education editor at The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
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Photo “Wisconsin Family Action Office” by Wisconsin Family Action.

 

 

 

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