Professional-choice group claims arson assault on Wisconsin anti-abortion workplace | Wisconsin

Federal agents and detectives from the Madison police division are investigating a claim by a pro-choice group that it was behind a weekend arson attack on an anti-abortion office in Wisconsin.

The headquarters of Wisconsin Household Action in Madison was attacked within the early hours of Sunday, with a molotov cocktail thrown by a window, starting a small fireplace, and graffiti spray-painted on an exterior wall. Nobody was harm.

In an announcement reported on Tuesday by the Lincoln Journal Star, which said it was unable to verify the group’s authenticity, Jane’s Revenge mentioned it launched the attack due to the group’s anti-abortion stance, and demanded that comparable institutions across the US disband or face “more and more extreme techniques”.

“Wisconsin is the first flashpoint, but we're all around the US, and we will challenge no further warnings,” the assertion stated, citing the violence of anti-choice groups who “bomb [abortion] clinics and assassinate docs with impunity” as justification.

The Madison assault came days after the leaking of a supreme court draft ruling that will overturn its 1973 Roe v Wade determination and finish nearly half a century of constitutional abortion protections.

On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) informed the Guardian that its agents were aware of the group’s claims of duty, however cited the ongoing investigation for being unable to give extra particulars.

The Madison police department mentioned it was “conscious of a group claiming responsibility for the arson at Wisconsin Family Action and are working with our federal companions to find out the veracity of that claim”.

It urged anybody with related information to make contact, saying: “We take all information and tips associated to this case severely and are working to vet each one.”

At a press convention on Monday afternoon, the Madison PD and ATF brokers introduced a joint investigation into what it referred to as an “abortion extremism case involving an arson and graffiti assault of a pro-life advocacy office in Madison”.

The Madison police chief, Shon Barnes, said no suspects had up to now been identified. Authorities were expected to offer an extra replace on Tuesday afternoon.

In a values statement on its web site, Wisconsin Family Motion (WFA) describes itself as a Judeo-Christian group dedicated to “strengthening, preserving, and promoting marriage, family, life and liberty.

“We help the sanctity of human life from the moment of conception by pure death. This consists of opposing laws that promotes the destruction of human life – which starts at conception – by abortion and other means,” it says.

Jack Hoogendyk, the WFA board chairman, attacked the response to the attack in a tweet posted on Tuesday morning, singling out Wisconsin’s Democratic governor, Tony Evers, and Madison PD detectives.

“We need to see a much stronger message of condemnation of this activity from our Governor [and] from local legislation enforcement,” he wrote.

At a press convention on Monday, Evers known as the attack “a horrible incident”.

Calling for a full investigation and arrests, he added: “Because the state of Wisconsin, we don’t accept that type of violence here.”

An attack on an anti-abortion workplace is a relative rarity in contrast with attacks on abortion clinics and suppliers. In 2019, the Guardian reported on an “alarming escalation” in picketing, vandalism and trespassing by anti-abortion activists at medical amenities.

Arson, bombings, murders and acid attacks have been among more than 300 acts of maximum violence recorded by the Rand Company between 1973 and 2003, and in one of the vital heinous incidents, in 2009, Dr George Tiller, a Kansas abortion provider, was shot dead in a church in Wichita.

In March, MS magazine reported that the variety of brick-and-mortar abortion clinics nationwide had dropped precipitously, partly due to the constant risk of violence towards personnel. Six states, MS said, had just one abortion supplier, principally small, impartial operators who were considered most at risk.

“Abortion clinics have been closing at an alarming charge,” the article said. “Independent suppliers are probably the most weak to anti-abortion attacks and violence directed at their staff.”