Memo warns extremist acts coming from abortion advocates.
QUICK FACTS:
- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is preparing for violence following the Supreme Court abortion ruling that is expected to overturn Roe v. Wade, according to a DHS memo.
- Threats made on social media to burn down or raid the Supreme Court building, murder justices, and attack houses of worship and abortion clinics and their clerks are now being investigated by law enforcement agencies.
- These threats—which target Supreme Court Justices, lawmakers, other public officials, clergy, and health care providers—came following the leak of the Supreme Court draft opinion and “are likely to persist and may increase leading up to and following the issuing of the Court’s official ruling,” according to the unclassified May 13 memo from DHS intelligence.
- The memo emphasizes that extremist acts are likely to come from abortion proponents.
- A DHS spokesperson said the agency is “committed to working with our partners across every level of government and the private sector to share timely information and intelligence, prevent all forms of violence, and to support law enforcement efforts to keep our communities safe.”
- The memo also revealed heightened communications between the government and the private sector as well as how multiple agencies are marshaling to thwart civil unrest.
DHS MEMO STRESSES FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS:
- “The mere advocacy of political or social positions, political activism, use of strong rhetoric, or generalized philosophic embrace of violent tactics,” the DHS memo reads, “does not constitute domestic violent extremism or illegal activity and is constitutionally protected.”
- A DHS spokesperson also indicated that the department “is committed to protecting Americans’ freedom of speech and other civil rights and civil liberties, including the right to peacefully protest.”
BACKGROUND:
- The mass shooting that occurred in Buffalo, NY, on Saturday has “complicated everything even more,” said risk management consultant and a former special agent with the U.S. Secret Service Jonathan Wackrow. “The attack in Buffalo actually has a measured impact on this Roe decision and how people will react to it,” Wackrow went on to say. “You see that people are willing to engage in the most violent acts in furtherance of that ideology.”
- The leaked warning comes two weeks after a draft opinion by Justice Samuel Alito reversing Roe v. Wade was leaked to POLITICO.
