WASHINGTON (KNX) — Since the leak of a draft Supreme Court majority opinion in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health case that could potentially overturn Roe v. Wade abortion protections, there has been a reported spike in threats against the court and women’s healthcare providers.
According to a May 13 intelligence bulletin from the Department of Homeland Security cited by CBS News, ABC News, and Axios, there is now an increased “threat to government, religious, and reproductive healthcare personnel and facilities and ideological opponents,” in response to the leak.
Chief Supreme Court Justice John Roberts directed the Marshal of the Court to launch an investigation into the source of the leak, which was published May 2 in POLITICO. So far, the source remains unclear.
Apart from the bulletin, officials from the DHS warned that violent domestic extremists have been infiltrating the national abortion debate “to incite violence amongst their supporters,” during a Monday call, according to a source familiar with the matter cited by ABC News.
U.S. Supreme Court Police have reported a “significant increase in violent threats,” that include social media posts directed at sitting justices and the Supreme Court building in Washington D.C., said CBS News. As of Monday, there was protective fencing around the building.
Per the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis bulletin – titled “Potential for Threats to Public Safety in Response to Abortion Debate” – social media threats referenced “burning down or storming the U.S. Supreme Court and murdering justices and their clerks,” as well as members of Congress and lawful demonstrators
“If you’re pro-life but aren't prepared to follow in their footsteps you’re wasting your time,” one user also wrote, according to the memo.
In addition to violent threats, the DHS said “pre-operational surveillance, unusual or suspicious interest in a facility, or attempts to gain unauthorized entry to government facilities, reproductive healthcare facilities, or personal residences of Supreme Court justices,” are signs that law enforcement should be aware of.
At least 25 posts have been flagged for investigation by the National Capital Region Threat Intelligence Consortium, a hub that tracks domestic terror threats in the Washington D.C. area. These posts have been referred to partner agencies for investigation.
“The DHS said federal law enforcement agencies have opened investigations into several of the online threats,” said CBS News.
According to ABC News, the DHS bulletin said that “the volume of violent threats targeting Supreme Court Justices, members of Congress, other public officials, clergy, healthcare officials and providers, and others associated with the abortion debate are likely to persist and may increase leading up to and following the issuing of the Court’s official ruling.”
A final ruling in the Dobbs v. Jackson case from the Supreme Court is expected to be released next month, said CBS.
Additionally, the DHS said it has registered an uptick in threats against “reproductive healthcare personnel and facilities.”
Historically, reproductive healthcare centers have been a target of attacks such as bombings arsons and violent conduct since the landmark Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, according to the Department of Justice. Protest activity increased in the 1970s, though it was mostly peaceful. However, it increased and became more violent in the 1980s and 1990s.
Since 1993, 10 individuals “who were employed in clinics as medical doctors, staff employees or patient or doctor escorts have been murdered in incidents motivated by anti-abortion animus,” said the Justice Department. “Several others have been dealt life-threatening injuries.”
Congress enacted the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE) in 1994 in response and the Task Force on Violence Against Health Care Providers in 1998 after the fatal shooting of Dr. Barnett Slepian, a reproductive health care provider from New York.
Last year, two defendants pled guilty to throwing Molotov cocktails at abortion clinics, according to the Justice Department.
The FBI pointed to “just one episode of pro-choice-inspired terrorism,” in response to a 2020 inquiry from The Daily Beast. It was a threat from an online comment section, said the outlet.
Currently, arson investigators are looking into a May 8 fire that broke out inside the headquarters of anti-abortion group Wisconsin Family Action, said CBS.
“If abortions aren’t safe [then] you aren’t either,” said graffiti at the scene, which also included symbols “typically used by anarchist violent extremists and others to convey anti-law enforcement sentiment,” according to the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis.
A DHS official cited by ABC News “did not specify which side, if any, the extremists were taking,” said the outlet.
“The leaked Supreme Court opinion on abortion has already triggered an intense political and cultural debate on this topic, and it is very likely it will be an key driver that motivates domestic extremists on different ends of the ideological spectrum to engage in acts of political violence against targets whom they perceive as legitimate,” Javed Ali, a former senior director for counterterrorism on the National Security Council told ABC.
“The Roe decision is flypaper for extremists,” said Axios this week.
Over the weekend, a white extremist shooter who posted the racist motivations for his crime online killed 10 people in a Buffalo, N.Y., supermarket. This new domestic terrorism tragedy has “complicated everything even more,” said Jonathan Wackrow, a risk management consultant and a former special agent with the U.S. Secret Service.
“The attack in Buffalo actually has a measured impact on this Roe decision and how people will will react to it,” he told Axios.
Mike Sena, president of the National Fusion Center Association, told CBS News that it can be difficult to assess online threats, but discussion of violence crosses a line.
“People can have extreme ideologies, there’s nothing wrong with that,” he said. But it’s the discussion of violence, death and destruction that we’re concerned about.”
In a statement to CBS News, a DHS spokesperson said the department is “committed to protecting Americans’ freedom of speech and other civil liberties, including the right to peacefully protest.”
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