Morning Briefing: Abortion Providers Increasingly Targeted by Anti-Abortion Extremist
From 2023 to 2024, abortion providers reported '621 trespassing incidents, 296 death threats, 169 acts of vandalism and almost 130,000 protests targeting their facilities,' according to recent report.
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Morning Briefing: In the years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, abortion providers across the country reported that anti-abortion extremists have continued to “perpetrate high levels of violence and harassment against abortion providers, including arsons, obstructions, assaults, constant picketing, death threats, and other activities,” according to a recent report by the National Abortion Federation (NAF).
The report documents incidents from 2023 to 2024, and during that time period abortion providers reported “621 trespassing incidents, 296 death threats, 169 acts of vandalism, and almost 130,000 protests targeting their facilities,” however, the “actual numbers are likely much higher.”
The Ohio Active Club, part of a network of neo-Nazi fight clubs, reportedly announced on social media that the group was “rebranding as the Ohio Nationalist Network,” and the group’s statements “suggested it was acting in closer collaboration with the National Organization for Vital Action (NOVA), a recently founded white nationalist group that emerged from the leadership of the National Justice Party.”
White Supremacist propaganda has reportedly been “found in at least two counties in southeastern Wisconsin — Washington and Ozaukee Counties — with messages promoting closing the border to undocumented immigrants.” The propaganda appears to have been distributed by the Aryan Freedom Network, a nationwide neo-Nazi group that “embraces antisemitic, racist and national socialist ideas.”
Kevin Delgado pleaded guilty to criminal charges of making online threats that targeted Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, and Delgado “admitted that he threatened her because of her religion and her perceived sexual orientation,” according to a statement by U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon.
Must Reads
David Gilbert writes that “violent threats and calls for impeachment on social media platforms against US judges have skyrocketed by 327 percent since last year, according to new research from the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE)… While threats of this nature were previously limited to fringe corners of the internet, GPAHE researchers found that they are now openly shared on mainstream platforms like TikTok. Along with TikTok, the researchers also compiled instances of violent threats and calls for impeachment against judges on President Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform, the anonymous message board 4chan, in the comments of video posts on the video-sharing site Rumble, and on Gab, a far-right social network. This uptick in posts comes as Trump, Elon Musk, and other major figures on the right have shared inflammatory rhetoric about the judiciary, especially in cases where judges have ruled against the current administration. In a Truth Social post in March, Trump called Boasberg a ‘radical left lunatic’ who ‘should be IMPEACHED!!!’ Musk called the court decisions impeding his so-called Department of Government Efficiency a ‘judicial coup,’ adding in a post on X: ‘impeach the judges.’” [Wired]
Anna Merlan writes that “rumors, conspiracy theories, memes, jokes, contextless claims and thinly-sourced allegations all now find their way at lightning speed to the White House and to other senior Republican officials, where they’re immediately spat back out in statements and public appearances. These statements make it incredibly clear how deeply online and profoundly conspiracy-brained the modern GOP is—and how much taxpayer-funded time the Trump administration plans to spend pursuing ideas that range from ludicrous to already debunked. Kennedy, who has previously admitted that he falls for online misinformation ‘all the time,’ and his bald claim that HHS engaged in the trafficking of children caused uproar and confusion, even among the conservative faithful. ‘If true, this would be a really really big deal,’ tweeted collegiate swimmer turned conservative activist Riley Gaines. ‘Arrest and prosecute!!!!’ ‘HOLY SHLIT,’ tweeted Chaya Raichik of the far-right Libs of TikTok. The way that the claim about 300,000 missing children made it out of Kennedy’s mouth helps to demonstrate how conspiracy theories function in the current, fever-dream version of the GOP.” [Mother Jones]
Stephen Starr writes that “for decades, Ohio was a national political bellwether that reflected America’s wider socioeconomic milieu. Its three large cities – Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland – provided a solid backbone of support for progressive politics. In the 2008 presidential election, Barack Obama won more votes in Ohio than any Democrat in history, repeating the feat four years later when he was elected to a second term in the White House. Until 2011, Democratic party governors were not uncommon. However, in recent years, Ohio has seen a marked shift to the right. The perpetrator of the 2017 Charlottesville car attack that killed 32-year-old Heather Heyer and the founder of the Daily Stormer, an influential neo-Nazi website, are both from Ohio. The plot to kill the Democratic Michigan governor, Gretchen Whitmer, was formulated in Dublin, the same well-to-do Columbus suburb where Cook spent part of his childhood. Eighty-three Ohioans were charged for their part in the 6 January 2021 attack on the Capitol that was prompted by President Trump. After Delaware, West Virginia and Pennsylvania – all states geographically closer to the capital – Ohio had the highest per capita number of arrested rioters. The same year, Columbus experienced a higher per capita incidence of hate crimes than all but three other US cities.” [The Guardian]
What to expect from Radical Reports: Morning Briefing provides a daily round-up of reporting on the Radical Right; Extremist Links offers a weekly round-up of extremists activities including the white supremacist and militia movements; Narratives of the Right delivers weekly analysis of the current narratives in far right online spaces and promoted by right-wing media; and Research Desk provides monthly highlights research and analysis from academia on the Radical Right.
Teddy: Keep up the great work. I look forward to receiving your postings.
Regards,
Bruce Goodchild
Sudbury, Ma.