Arson investigations at two different anti-abortion offices underway

Investigators in Madison, Wisconsin and Keizer, Oregon are investigating two apparent instances of arson targeting anti-abortion offices. Both incidents happened Sunday.

“Shortly after 6:00 a.m. on Sunday, May 8, a passerby heading to Madison’s airport noticed flames coming from the Wisconsin Family Action office,” Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said Monday. “Responding officers observed smoke coming from the building and a ground level window, which had been breached…investigators located an incendiary device, sometimes referred to as a Molotov cocktail, inside the office.”

In addition to the Molotov cocktail found inside the anti-abortion office, as well as another one that may have ignited, the message “If abortions aren’t safe then you aren’t either” was spray-painted on the outside of the office. No one has been arrested and there are no suspects in custody. Chief Barnes decried the arson incident Monday.

“There’s no place in Madison for any type of hate speech or any type of violence, or any type of property destruction to advance any cause,” Barnes said. “If you’re thinking of doing something like that, I would recommend that you not. It doesn’t look good for your cause and it doesn’t look good for our community.”

Meanwhile in Keizer, two Molotov cocktails were thrown at the Oregon Right to Life building Sunday night. According to the Keizer Police Department, the cocktails came after an unsuccessful attempt to break into the office.

“There was a small fire with minimal damage and no one was in the building at the time,” the department said in a Tuesday Facebook post. “Keizer Police detectives, the Keizer Fire District, and an arson investigator from the Salem Police Department responded to the scene. This case is currently under investigation.”

The arson attacks at anti-abortion offices came just days after a leaked Supreme Court opinion indicated the court was ready to overturn Roe v. Wade. The leak led to nationwide protests, including some outside the houses of Supreme Court justices.

Last week, two Catholic churches in Colorado, including one known for its annual anti-abortion display, were also vandalized.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.