Vandals targeted the headquarters of a Wisconsin pro-life group on Sunday, setting a fire in the office and marking the building with graffiti that said, “If abortions aren’t safe then you aren’t either.”
Police told Madison.com that they are working with federal officials and the Madison Fire Department to investigate the fire at Wisconsin Family Action’s Madison, Wisc., office as an arson. Officials said a Molotov cocktail was thrown inside the building but did not ignite, according to the report. Vandals seemingly set a separate fire after that, police told the outlet.
The incident comes after Politico published a leaked majority draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health on Monday, which suggested the Supreme Court may be poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, returning the question of abortion to the states.
“What you’re going to see here is a direct threat against us,” said Julaine Appling, president of the lobbying and advocacy organization, according to the report. “Imagine if somebody had been in the office when this happened. They would have been hurt.”
BREAKING: Somebody vandalized and allegedly threw Molotov cocktails into Wisconsin Family Action’s — an anti-abortion rights group — Madison office, writing w/ graffiti, “If abortions aren’t safe, then you aren’t either.”
Story TK pic.twitter.com/6Wfnyeh9hQ
— Alexander Shur (@AlexanderShur) May 8, 2022
Appling told Madison.com she was preparing for a Mother’s Day brunch when a building staff member told her there had been a break-in at the headquarters. A person headed to the local airport before dawn saw smoke rising from the building and alerted police, she told the outlet.
Appling and a colleague arrived at the office to discover a shattered window in a corner office filled with burned books. The fire damaged the office’s carpet and the wall beneath the window, according to the report.
The vandals also spray-painted an anarchy symbol and a coded anti-police slogan, Madison.com reported.
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, a Democrat, issued a statement on Twitter condemning “violence and hatred in all forms, including the actions at Wisconsin Family Action in Madison last night.”
He added: “We reject violence against any person for disagreeing with another’s view … We will work against overturning Roe and attacks on reproductive rights by leading with empathy and compassion. We will defend what we believe in with our words and our voices — in the streets, in halls of government, and at the ballot box. In Wisconsin, we must lead by example.”
The incident comes days after vandals attacked a church in Boulder, Colo., last week, spray painting pro-abortion messages on the building’s exterior and smashing its windows.
The graffiti on the church included, “My body my choice” and, “You don’t speak 4 God,” CBS 4 reported. Messages in support of universal healthcare were also spray-painted onto sculptures.
The damage to Sacred Heart of Mary Church will cost thousands of dollars to repair, the Catholic church and the Archdiocese in Denver told the outlet.