NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Molotov cocktails were hurled toward an Oregon pro-life organization office Sunday evening, another attack toward an anti-abortion group on Mother’s Day following an earlier incident in Wisconsin.
Police said what began as an “attempted break-in” at the office for Oregon Right to Life at approximately 10:38 p.m. Sunday in Keizer, Oregon, a suburb north of the state’s capital of Salem, failed, so an unknown suspect or suspects ignited two Molotov cocktails and threw them toward the brick building.
There was a small fire with minimal damage, and no one was in the building at the time, according to the Keizer Police Department, which shared a photo of what appeared to be a charred exterior vent.
WISCONSIN PRO-LIFE GROUP WANTS ‘STRONGER LEADERSHIP’ FROM WHITE HOUSE TO HUNT ‘THUGS’ BEHIND ARSON ATTACK
In a statement of its own, Oregon Right to Life categorized the incident as “an attack” and disclosed the individual or individuals responsible used “incendiary devices,” but fire and police departments responded quickly, effectively minimizing damage to what was a vacant building at the time.
“Understandably, our team is shaken up by this attack. We are committed to taking proper precautions to protect the safety of our staff as we move forward,” Oregon Right to Life executive director Lois Anderson said in a statement. “We are thankful for the quick action of our first responders committed to maintaining a safe environment to operate in this community.”
Keizer police said an attempted break-in at the Oregon Right to Life building failed, so an unknown suspect or suspects then ignited two Molotov cocktails and threw them toward the brick building. There was a small fire with minimal damage and no one was in the building at the time, police said.
(Keizer Police Department)
Keizer Police detectives, the Keizer Fire District and an arson investigator from the Salem Police Department responded to the scene. The case remains under investigation. Anyone with information is encouraged to share via the tip line at [email protected] or call us at 503-856-3529.
Oregon Right to Life “has had long-standing opposition to the use of force, intimidation, and violence by any person pursuing pro-life activities,” according to the group’s press release about the incident.
“Our commitment to the well-being of all human life requires that we respect the inherent value and dignity of all people. Just as we condemn abortion and euthanasia, we oppose private acts that take human life, inflict bodily harm, or destroy another’s property,” it continued. “No board member, officer, employee, or chapter officer may participate in any illegal or harmful act against another person or property in pursuing pro-life activity. Oregon Right to Life will not knowingly do business with any organization or business which endorses violence in any way toward pro-abortion persons or businesses.”
Christine Drazan, the former minority leader of the Oregon House of Representatives and current Republican candidate for governor, released a statement condemning the incident as what she described as “clearly a politically motivated attack on the pro-life community.”
“I strongly condemn this cowardly act of violence,” she said. “We must not allow for this kind of intimidation to persist in our state under any circumstances.”
This comes after an early morning Mother’s Day arson attack at the pro-life group Wisconsin Family Action’s office in Madison prompted a response from the White House.
After the leak of a draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade, protests have mounted outside the homes of Supreme Court Justices as well as Catholic churches across the nation.
The president of Wisconsin Family Action told Fox News Digital Monday that “stronger leadership” from President Biden is needed to hunt down who is behind the arson attack at her office and to send a message that violence and intimidation against pro-lifers isn’t just condemned afterward, but must end and will not be tolerated at the federal level.
