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Madison group opposes abortion: Investigators update arson case
Officials with the Madison Police Department, Madison Fire Department, FBI, and ATF provided an update on the investigation into an arson at the headquarters of a Madison group that opposes abortion.
MADISON, Wis. - Madison police are looking for the person who targeted a group that opposes abortion. The FBI and ATF have joined the arson investigation – and revealed on Monday, May 9 that two Molotov cocktails, one of which did not ignite, were found inside the office of Wisconsin Family Action.
Investigators are searching the area and looking for surveillance video. They will not say what leads they are tracking down. The Madison police chief adds he wasn't aware of any additional threats.
Graffiti on the outside of the office Sunday said, "If abortions aren't safe then you aren't either." As of Monday, it was painted over.
Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said shortly after 6 a.m. on Sunday, May 8, a person noticed fire coming from the office of Wisconsin Family Action in Madison. Officers and the Madison Fire Department arrived on the scene in less than five minutes – and firefighters extinguished the fire.
Barnes said investigators located two incendiary devices – known by many as a Molotov cocktail – inside the office. Multiple pieces of evidence were collected and sent to federal partners for processing.
Arson at Wisconsin Family Action, Madison (WMTV)
"There is no room for hate or violence in Madison," Barnes said. "Hate or violence do not advance any cause. And unfortunately, we're investigating the fruits of hate and violence in the form of an arson where a specific non-profit group was targeted for their beliefs regarding the issue of abortion."
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Local, federal investigators provide update on arson case aimed at group that opposes abortion
Officials with the Madison Police Department, Madison Fire Department, FBI, and ATF provide an update on the investigation into an arson at the headquarters of a Madison group that opposes abortion.
"I’m sorry that they did this," said Julaine Appling, Wisconsin Family Action President. "We have a different view on a number of issues. The solution to that is not to blow up our office so to speak, or attempt to."
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers condemned the violence.
"It was a horrible, horrible, incident that, the state of Wisconsin, we don’t accept that kind of violence, here," the governor said. "They should be arrested and put on trial. This is unacceptable."
A reporter asked the governor what his message was for the person who attacked the group's office. "The message is: bad, bad mistake. You should be arrested and put in jail."
Arson at Wisconsin Family Action, Madison (WMTV)
Law enforcement says cases like this are actually rare.
"To my knowledge, since I’ve been here, I’ve only been here a year and a half, this is the first that we’ve had," said Chief Barnes. "I think that the recent news from the Supreme Court has certainly heightened people’s awareness of this particular issue."
"At this time, we have no further leads on any things that occurred of this nature in the state of Wisconsin. This is our first one that we're responding to with our state and local partners and our federal partners, ATF," said Robert Payne, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Milwaukee.
"We're looking at this from the lens, this is a First Amendment protected right. People have their opinions. And when we violate that, and we use criminal activity or violence in that nature, the FBI and our federal authorities will look at that for all federal statutes in which to investigate," added Payne.
Robert Payne, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Milwaukee
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At this time, there are no arrests in this case. But police encourage people to call Crime Stoppers Madison if they saw something. The number is 608-266-6014.
Background
The leak last week of a draft opinion suggesting that the U.S. Supreme Court was on course to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide sparked protests across the country, including multiple ones in Madison.
Arson at Wisconsin Family Action, Madison (WMTV)
"We understand that emotions are high on every side of this issue following the recent news involving the U.S Supreme Court," Chief Barnes said.
Wisconsin Family Action has been a prominent force in the state for years, advocating for laws to limit abortions, fighting to overturn Roe v. Wade and working on numerous other hot-button social issues.
It's not the first attack surrounding abortion in Wisconsin.
In 2012, a man named Francis Grady threw a firebomb inside an Appleton Planned Parenthood abortion clinic. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Outside of Wisconsin, in January an arsonist targeted a Planned Parenthood clinic in Tennessee.
On the very same day as the attack on Wisconsin Family Action, two Molotov cocktails were thrown inside the office of Oregon Right to Life, the Keizer Police Department reported.
Associated Press contributed to this report.