Nine conservative leaders, led by Brian Burch, President of CatholicVote, recently issued a letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) expressing their concern over the nationwide increased attacks against churches, pro-life organizations, and pregnancy resource centers. In the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s leaked draft opinion that indicated the overturning of Roe v. Wade, The Washington Stand reports that there have been more than 50 separate incidents of violent attacks on organizations that stand for life. Arson, vandalism, property theft, and property destruction are some of the attacks committed by pro-abortion extremists.
“This continued assault on religious and pro-life groups because of their beliefs is a manifest injustice that requires prompt, comprehensive, and public response,” the letter reads.
In December 2021, Burch also wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland urging him to investigate an ongoing trend of approximately 139 attacks on Catholic property over 35 states and the District of Columbia since May 2020. However, this plea was met with silence and inaction. Burch and his associates emphasized that the DOJ’s lackluster approach to prosecuting attackers and protecting religious freedom “endangers Americans even more.”
“The DOJ has been spending a lot of taxpayer resources going after parents who attend school board meetings and going after pro-lifers who have exposed crimes in D.C. abortuaries. Meanwhile, they are NOT going after actual domestic terrorists,” said Tom McClusky, the director of Government Affairs for CatholicVote.
Under 18 U.S. Code 247, it is the duty of the Attorney General to investigate and prosecute those who damage religious property or obstruct people from freely exercising their religious beliefs. A call to uphold the 1996 law was followed by a call for the DOJ to “publicly condemn these unlawful attacks.” Furthermore, the leaders urge the DOJ to not only investigate and prosecute the attackers but also proactively engage with the affected faith communities to ensure their security needs are met.
McClusky emphasized, “While churches, pregnancy care centers, and pro-life organizations are being vandalized and fire-bombed, and Supreme Court Justices are being targeted for assassination, the Biden administration fiddles and applauds the protestors inspiring the violent acts.”
The nine leaders also requested a meeting with Garland and the Civil Rights Division to discuss the plans to safeguard pro-life organizations in the event that attacks intensify.
“Attorney General Garland needs to do his job of enforcing the nation’s laws or step down,” they insisted.
