A fire at a Wisconsin anti-abortion group’s headquarters is being investigated as an arson, according to the Wisconsin Star Journal.
The fire, which took place early Sunday morning at the Wisconsin Family Action office in Madison, was spotted by police around 6 a.m. The building itself was spray painted with the phrase “If abortions aren’t safe then you aren’t either,” and a numeric acronym for the phrase “all cops are bastards.”
“It appears a specific non-profit that supports anti-abortion measures was targeted,” Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said in a statement.
Julaine Appling, president of the lobbying club, called the fire a “direct threat against us,” since it happened shortly after the Supreme Court opinion suggesting the overturn of Roe v. Wade was leaked. “This is the local manifestation of the anger and the lack of tolerance from the pro-abortion people toward those of us who are pro-life,” Appling said.
The anti-abortion club president said that investigators found the remnants of a Molotov cocktail, as police add that the cocktail appears to have not worked, prompting someone to start a fire afterward. No one was injured in the fire.
“We condemn violence and hatred in all forms, including the actions at Wisconsin Family Action in Madison last night,” Democratic Gov. Tony Evers wrote on Twitter. “We reject violence against any person for disagreeing with another’s view … We will work against overturning Roe and attacks on reproductive rights by leading with empathy and compassion. We will defend what we believe in with our words and our voices — in the streets, in halls of government, and at the ballot box. In Wisconsin, we must lead by example.”
Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway shared that pro-choice groups have been targeted as well, and said free speech “must be exercised nonviolently by all sides in this increasingly contentious debate.”
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