The FBI is investigating attacks on pregnancy resource centers across the country as acts of domestic violent extremism, the bureau announced on Friday.
“The FBI is investigating a series of attacks and threats targeting pregnancy resource centers and faith-based organizations across the country,” the FBI said in a statement first reported by Fox News. “The FBI takes all threats seriously and we continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners and will remain vigilant to protect our communities.”
The investigations come after violent pro-abortion groups have targeted these organizations following the leak of the Supreme Court’s draft decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, which purported to overturn Roe v. Wade. These groups counsel women on alternatives to abortion and, often, provide shelter and other resources for new and expectant mothers. Many of them are religiously affiliated with Christian organizations and churches.
The attacks have, so far, involved assaults on physical property where graffiti, paint, fecal matter, are strewn on the exterior walls and where windows and doors are broken. However, a recent assassination attempt on Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh at his home in Maryland stemmed from the publication of his home address by ‘Ruth Sent Us,’ one of the groups involved in virulent pro-abortion protests outside such centers.
Pro-abortion group Jane’s Revenge had recently taken credit for an attack on Wisconsin Family Action in Madison, Wis., in May, where two Molotov cocktails were thrown into its offices after windows were broken. Extremists also threw red paint on a similar location in Washington, D.C. Similar arson attacks were also reported at such centers in Gersham, Oregon, Buffalo, N.Y., and New York City.
The investigation comes after 124 Republican Members of Congress wrote to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland asking for an investigation. In its statement, Bureau said that “The FBI takes all threats seriously and we continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners and will remain vigilant to protect our communities.”