‘Vandalism’? No, a politically motivated arson attack on the pro-life community is an act of terror

One local news report called the perpetrators “vandals.” Likewise, the New York Times called the arson attack of a Wisconsin pro-life group “an act of vandalism,” and said when the Molotov cocktail didn’t ignite “the vandal or vandals started another fire nearby.” 

“The fire burned part of a wall,” the Times wrote, making sure to minimize the damage done. 

Would “vandalism” be the word to describe an arson of an abortion clinic? 

Vandals break windows, kick in doors, write on things and leave. It’s difficult to see how the arson attack on a pro-life organization in Wisconsin early Sunday could be viewed as anything but an act of terrorism. 

Especially since the Molotov cocktail and separate arson were accompanied with the spray-painted threat, “If abortions aren’t safe then you aren’t either.” 

No, this was not run-of-the-mill vandalism. This is unmistakable domestic terrorism, and should be treated as such – not just by the media, but by authorities. 

“There’s nothing we have done to warrant this,” Julaine Appling, president of Wisconsin Family Action, said Sunday. “We ought to be able to take different sides on issues without fearing for our lives. Had anybody been in the office, they would have, at a minimum, been hurt.” 

The attack, perhaps not coincidentally, occurred on Mother’s Day – and just days after a leaked draft of an opinion that indicated the U.S. Supreme Court is about to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that created the right to abortion. 

The spray-painted terrorist threat was most disturbing, Appling told the media. “As I drove up to the office and I saw that, my immediate reaction was surprise at how overt the threat was.” 

The graffiti also included an anti-police message. 

The frightening attack comes amid a growing climate of anger and harassment from the pro-abortion left – including protests outside conservative justices’ homes that one reporter called “one of the scariest things” he’d ever seen. 

“This is an attempt at intimidation,” Daily Signal news editor Douglas Blair told Fox News Monday. 

Then there are the coordinated protests and implied threats at houses of worship, notably Catholic churches.  

“A pro-choice group that is coordinating protests targeting churches has links to the Revolutionary Communist Party,” Fox News Digital reported. “Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights is among the far-left groups that organized Mother’s Day protests against churches … The online signup form for Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights discloses that the group ‘is a project of RefuseFascism.org’. 

“Refuse Fascism is an offshoot of the Revolutionary Communist Party, as the communist group has acknowledged, and was launched in response to former President Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 election.” 

Still, organizing and protesting are one thing. Arson and terror are another. 

A line has been crossed.