The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is bracing for the expected wave of political violence once the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, according to an internal memo obtained by Axios.
As reported by the outlet,
The unclassified May 13 memo by DHS’ intelligence arm says threats that followed the leak of a draft opinion — targeting Supreme Court Justices, lawmakers and other public officials, as well as clergy and health care providers — “are likely to persist and may increase leading up to and following the issuing of the Court’s official ruling.”
The report specifies that law enforcement is “investigating social-media threats to burn down or storm the Supreme Court building and murder justices and their clerks, as well as attacks targeting places of worship and abortion clinics.”
The DHS memo didn’t cast blame for the anticipated mayhem exclusively on the pro-abortion side, saying that the “racist” pro-lifers could cause trouble as well.
“Some racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists’ embrace of pro-life narratives may be linked to the perception of wanting to ‘save white children’ and ‘fight white genocide,'” believes the department.
LifeSiteNews disagreed with that assessment, reporting,
The suggestion that white supremacists may be attracted to the pro-life cause to “save white children” comes despite the fact that an estimated 80% of Planned Parenthood abortion facilities are within walking distance of minority neighborhoods, according to a 2015 report by the Center for Urban Renewal and Education.
Citing the pro-abortion think tank Guttmacher Institute, the outlet added that unborn black babies are about five times as likely to be killed via abortion than white babies.
Both the memo and the DHS spokesperson who spoke with Axios carefully suggested that aggressive rhetoric alone does not necessarily constitute “domestic violent extremism.”
“The mere advocacy of political or social positions, political activism, use of strong rhetoric, or generalized philosophic embrace of violent tactics does not constitute domestic violent extremism or illegal activity and is constitutionally protected,” reads the memo.
The aforementioned DHS representative added that the department is coordinating preparations with other government agencies to address the threat, as well as with the private sector and local law enforcement “to share timely information and intelligence, prevent all forms of violence, and support law enforcement efforts” to keep communities safe.
In a separate report, Axios said that local police were urging businesses to prepare for the possibility of “civil unrest.”
Reportedly, the protesters could target businesses that produce or sell drugs to end pregnancies and “organizations that fund and facilitate travel for those seeking abortions,” as well as those that have announced their pro-abortion stance, such as Starbucks, Citibank, and Match.com
The Hill reported that since the SCOTUS draft majority opinion overturning Roe v. Wade became public, “Intelligence officials in the Capitol region … flagged 25 threats on social media to partner agencies. That included posts encouraging violence at a Tuesday protest ‘by sharing images and comments related to terrorist vehicle rammings of lawful demonstrators.'”
The memo specified that pro-life groups could generate a significant portion of the violence. As quoted by The Hill:
Historically, violent acts related to this issue were primarily committed by abortion-related violent extremists that opposed abortion rights. Going forward, grievances related to restricting abortion access could fuel violence by pro-choice abortion-related violent extremists and other DVEs [domestic violent extremists].
Yet, so far, following the leaked SCOTUS draft, pro-lifers have not committed a single act of violence. Their pro-abortion counterparts, on the other hand, have been quite busy.
As reported by The New American (see here and here), the latter employed intimidation, threats, vandalism, riots, and arson to pressure conservative justices to change their votes and to express their frustration with the perspective that viable unborn children could not be aborted.
According to another TNA report, the radical pro-abortion organization called Women’s March, which helped organize abortion-rights rallies in numerous cities across America, threatened the nation with a “Summer of Rage.”
“We will be ungovernable until this government starts working for us, until the attacks on our bodies let up, until the right to an abortion is codified into law,” promised the organization’s president, Rachel Carmona, echoing the 2020 rhetoric of BLM and Antifa. As do those two groups, Women’s March has long-established Marxist ties, according to the report.
Asked whether the administration expected to see the political violence caused by the anticipated SCOTUS ruling coming from pro-life or pro-abortion groups, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that it could come from either.
She praised the work of the Department of Justice (DOJ) in providing support to the Supreme Court Marshal, adding that, to date, “protests were peaceful.” The instances of vandalism, arson, and unlawful intimidation of the Supreme Court justices were omitted by Jean-Pierre. Her comments resembled the narrative on the “mostly peaceful” far-left protests in the summer of 2020.
Last week, the U.S. Senate unanimously voted to beef up security for justices following the unlawful protests in front of their residences. While the bill does not provide any additional funding, it allows Supreme Court police to arrest individuals who interfere with the Court’s ability to perform its duties. It also creates a criminal penalty for those who impede or obstruct the performance of those duties. Now it is up to the House to follow suit and uphold the rule of law.
