Army presentation called pro-life groups terrorists

The United States Army has announced it is conducting an official investigation into a training presentation that labeled prominent and distinguished pro-life organizations as “terror groups.”

But the independent journalist who uncovered the story said the practice of calling pro-life advocates “terrorists” has been part of military training for years.

During a presentation for security personnel manning access points at Fort Liberty (formerly Fort Bragg), a slide show featured the logos of pro-life advocacy groups Operation Rescue, National Right to Life and a New York pro-life license plate. 

The logos appeared on a slide labeled “Terror Groups.” 

The slide show also featured an official Fort Liberty command logo for the base’s “Directorate of Emergency Services,” also known as military police. 

“An anti-terrorism brief was held on Fort Liberty (Bragg) today where they listed several Pro-Life organizations as ‘terrorist organizations.’ The slide you see here followed right after a slide about ISIS, a terror group in the Middle East,” wrote independent journalist Sam Shoemate on X. 

An announcement on Fort Liberty’s Public Relations Facebook page later claimed “the slides presented on social media were not vetted by the appropriate approval authorities, and do not reflect the views of the XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Liberty, the U.S. Army or the Department of Defense.” 

The commander’s inquiry into the presentation determined that the “slides were developed by a local garrison employee to train Soldiers manning access control points,” said the Facebook post.  

But soldiers at Fort Liberty are shaken by the presentation that characterizes conservative groups as terrorists.  

“It’s pretty unsettling that they’d try and conflate pro-life groups to the level of ISIS, but this is the kind of thing we now see all the time,” a Fort Liberty soldier, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, told The Blaze. 

The soldier said the presentation was done by a Department of Defense civilian, not an anti-terrorism officer.  

But Shoemate, a former Army officer, told The Blaze that DoD personnel are so worried about upsetting garrison commanders that he’s certain the commander or the deputy commander knew what was in the presentation beforehand.  

Shoemate re-posted what he said was a YouTube video shared in June 2023 featuring the exact same slide in use by the Army at Fort Liberty. 

Republican members of Congress are also doubtful about the Fort Liberty claims of a lone employee being responsible for the slide.  

Eighty-seven Republican members of the Subcommittee on Military Personnel and the House Armed Services Committee sent a letter to Christine Wormuth, Secretary of the Army, asking for an explanation.  

“While Ft. Liberty’s statement asserts that the slides ‘do not reflect the views of the … 

U.S. Army or the Department of Defense’, the American people are rightfully concerned that 

training of this kind is being disseminated in the first place and possibly at other military 

installations,” said the letter.   

The members demanded answers to questions about the incident by no later than July 25, 2024, including how long such slides have been in use and assurances that the slides are not being used at other Army facilities. 

Rep. Jim Banks, a Republican from Indiana, told the Daily Caller that he blamed the inclusion of the slides on President Joe Biden’s obsession with “creating a politicized environment where far-left wack jobs feel they can get away with teaching our troops that conservative Americans are their adversary and legitimate military targets.”  

“We are in dangerous territory,” added Banks. 

Carol Tobias, president of one of the pro-life groups featured on the slides, agreed with Banks, saying that the Biden administration is responsible for teaching America’s military members that pro-life Americans are violent extremists. 

“Only under the Biden Administration can peaceful law-abiding citizens and their peaceful activities be considered ‘terrorism.’ The Biden Administration promotes the deaths of preborn babies and advocates for unlimited abortion, but peaceful pro-life Americans are labeled ‘terrorists,’” said Tobias, President of National Right to Life.  

In addition to the commander-level investigation already completed, WRAL is reporting that the Army is conducting what’s known as a “AR 15-6 Investigation,” a formal investigation “initiated in response to allegations of Soldier misconduct, poor leadership, command climate issues, or when the commander seeks resolution to an unresolved question or issue that may require command actions.”   

Shoemate said that no matter what the Army claims now, equating pro-life groups with terrorists has been an ongoing part of military police training. 

“Despite Fort Liberty’s claims that the slide calling pro-life organizations terrorist groups was unapproved, it’s been a part of training for military police and ACP for years.”