Facebook Designates Violent Pro-Abortion Group a Terrorist Organization

Facebook has officially labeled a pro-abortion group deemed responsible for multiple acts of vandalism against Roman Catholic churches and pro-life pregnancy clinics as a terrorist organization. The Intercept reports that Facebook parent company Meta has filed “Jane’s Revenge” to its Dangerous Individuals and Organizations guidebook, meaning that speech about the organization will be subject to a set of stringent regulations.

The filing describes Jane’s Revenge as a “far-left extremist group that has claimed responsibility on its website for an attack against an anti-abortion group’s office in Madison, Wisconsin in May 2022. The group is responsible for multiple arson and vandalism attacks on pro-life institutions.”

This designation follows calls from U.S. Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate Jane’s Revenge as a domestic terrorist organization.

On June 17, the U.S. Senator sent a letter (which can be read here) to Attorney General Merrick Garland asking the Department of Justice to investigate the pro-abortion group called “Jane’s Revenge” for committing acts of domestic terrorism against pregnancy resource centers, churches, and other locations. In the letter, Cotton claims that “Houses of worship and pro-life pregnancy centers are under attack”, and asks for Merrick to investigate Jane’s Revenge, or resign if he doesn’t.

Cotton also attached to the letter a list of vandalizations that Jane’s Revenge has taken credit for. The list is part of a larger fifty item catalog compiled by the Family Research Council (which can be found here), a prominent Washington-based conservative Christian think tank and advocacy organization. The attacks listed include St. John XXIII Catholic Church in Ft. Collins, Colorado on May 7, Agape Pregnancy Center in Des Moines, Iowa on June 2, and Mountain Area Pregnancy Services in Asheville, North Carolina, with one of the acts of vandalism being a message spray painted on the building saying “If abortions aren’t safe, neither are you!”

The senator’s statement was released amidst a string of vicious vandalism on a plethora of different groups that have some affiliation with pro-life causes. 

The attacks have taken place across the country, beginning in early May and continuing through this past weekend following the release of the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade on June 24. On June 15, a letter was posted by Jane’s Revenge on their website claiming responsibility for acts of vandalism in various cities and states, with the warning that its “open season” on pro-life groups that continue to remain in operation. The letter also calls for “drastic measures against oppressive infrastructures” and that future attacks may not just involve the use of “fire and graffiti”. 

Others echoed Cotton’s call for investigation and condemnation of Jane’s Revenge. More than a hundred House Republicans have signed a letter calling on the DOJ to investigate the attacks, stating that “Since the draft Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health U.S. Supreme Court opinion was leaked on May 2, 2022, U.S. Supreme Court Justices and pro-life advocates have experienced heightened threats and violence”, and further added that “it is the responsibility of the National Security Division to protect the United States from threats to our national security by seeking justice through law”, which was created in response to the January 6 riots. In May, U.S. Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) sent a letter to multiple chief law enforcement officials condemning their silence after the Wisconsin Family Action’s office in Madison was hit by a Molotov cocktail and had messages spray painted on the building. 

The FBI also released a statement on June 10 saying that it would “not tolerate violence, destruction, interference with government functions”, and emphasized that it was “committed to working closely with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to stop any individuals who intend to commit violence or criminal activity under the guise of carrying out a demonstration.” 

President Biden condemned the attack on the Madison pregnancy center. In televised comments delivered from the White House following release of the Dobbs decision he appealed to “keep all protests peaceful.”

“No intimidation,” Biden requested. “Violence is never acceptable. Threats and intimidation are not speech. We must stand against violence in any form, regardless of your rationale.”

The attacks by Jane’s Revenge and others on pro-life groups and Facebook’s new regulations come in the wake of the leak of the Supreme Court draft opinion indicating Roe would be overturned. Shortly after the initial leak, a pro-abortion group called “Ruth Sent Us” called for nationwide protests at Roman Catholic and other Christian church services. The group labeled the Catholic Church as “an institution for the enslavement of women” and certain social media posts by the group expressed support for burning the Eucharist in Catholic churches. 

Despite repeated threats of a “Night of Rage”, the overturning of Roe did not result in significant violence. However, some locations affiliated with pro-life causes were hit with vandalism following announcement of the ruling, though there wasn’t a tremendously violent night despite what was promised by some pro-abortion groups.

The Facebook memo obtained by The Intercept declares that due to the violent actions of Jane’s Revenge: “We are internally classifying this as a Violating Violent Event (General Designation). All content praising, supporting or representing the event and/or perpetrator(s) should be removed from the platform. The office of a conservative political organization that lobbies against abortion rights was vandalized and damaged by fire in Madison, Wisconsin. A group called Jane’s Revenge took credit for the attack.”