FBI offers $25K rewards for information about attacks on crisis pregnancy centers
Abigail Adcox
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please place in RAThe Federal Bureau of Investigation is offering rewards of up to $25,000 for information related to a series of attacks and threats targeting crisis pregnancy centers across the country, many of which occurred in wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.
The FBI said Thursday that the rewards will be offered in exchange for information leading to the identification, arrest, and conviction of the suspect(s) responsible for the crimes against crisis pregnancy centers, reproductive health clinics, and faith-based organizations.
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“Today’s announcement reflects the FBI’s commitment to vigorously pursue investigations into crimes against pregnancy resource centers, faith-based organizations, and reproductive health clinics across the country,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “We will continue to work closely with our national, state, and local law enforcement partners to hold responsible anyone who uses extremist views to justify their criminal actions.”
The FBI had been facing criticism from anti-abortion advocates and Republicans that it was overlooking a campaign of harassment and violence against crisis pregnancy centers, which offer services to pregnant women as an alternative to abortion, and often are located near abortion clinics.
The FBI has been investigating the attacks as potential acts of domestic violent extremism, violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, or violent crime, depending on the facts of each case. The FACE act serves as the agency’s enforcement against “threats of force, obstruction and property damage intended to interfere with reproductive health care services.”
The agency has requested information for several cases of vandalism and arson at crisis pregnancy centers in Colorado, New York, and Oregon, among other states dating back to March.
The FBI office in Buffalo, New York, has offered up to $25,000 for information-related to an arson at CompassCare Pregnancy Services Center. Last June, the center sustained significant damage from a fire started by a Molotov cocktail. Individual(s) also spray-painted “Jane was here” on the building, a tagline used by the radical abortion rights group Jane’s Revenge, which has reportedly claimed responsibility for over a dozen attacks against crisis pregnancy centers. Approximately, 56 pregnancy centers have been vandalized since the beginning of early May, the Catholic News Agency estimates.
The agency is also offering a reward for tips related to an incident at Planned Parenthood in Costa Mesa, California, where suspect(s) threw a Molotov cocktail at the front door of the building last March.
The Department of Justice has also utilized a task force to coordinate a national investigation and prosecution of incidents against “reproductive health providers, patients, and facilities.”
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Earlier this month, the Republican-led House passed a resolution condemning attacks on anti-abortion facilities and churches.
“We are introducing this resolution to make the position of Congress crystal clear: violence, property damage, threats, and intimidation tactics must be condemned, and these clear violations of federal and state laws must be prosecuted,” said Republican Conference Vice Chairman Mike Johnson (R-LA), who introduced the resolution.