U.S. Army personnel at Fort Liberty in North Carolina were given a training seminar in which certain prominent anti-abortion groups were labeled as “terrorist groups,” according to information leaked from within the base.
Images circulating on social media and confirmed by the Fort Liberty Garrison Public Affairs Office for the Washington Examiner showed a presentation to soldiers manning access control points at the base that characterized National Right to Life and Operation Rescue as terrorist groups.
The presentation slide, photographed by an anonymous person in the briefing room on Wednesday and published on social media by a pseudonymous account, highlights common tactics used by anti-abortion activists as possibly dangerous, including “demonstrations and protest,” “truth display,” “picketing,” and sidewalk counseling.
It’s not clear who gave the presentation. The presentation slide included the insignias of the Directorate of Emergency Services at Fort Liberty and the XVIII Airborne Corps.
The leaked image of the presentation slide also included a picture of a “Choose Life” license plate, which is sold in 34 states, according to the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion-rights group.
A spokesperson from Fort Liberty Garrison Public Affairs Office told the Washington Examiner that the slides “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 slides were developed by a local garrison employee to train Soldiers manning access control points at Fort Liberty,” the spokesperson said. “These slides will no longer be used, and all future training products will be reviewed to ensure they align with the current DoD anti-terrorism guidance.”
Founded in 1968, the National Right to Life is a 501(c)(4) lobbying organization whose mission is primarily legislative and political. Operation Rescue, established in 1986, is more well known for grassroots activism and protests outside of abortion clinics, as well as exposing the work and identifying information of abortion providers.
Both groups were associated in the presentation with “bombings of clinics” and “attempted murders,” according to the presentation slide.
Troy Newman, the president of Operation Rescue, told the Washington Examiner that the slides appeared to be between 10 and 15 years old, repurposed from a similar presentation for the FBI exposed by a Freedom of Information Act request by the organization. Newman said he no longer had documentation from the FOIA for corroboration.
“We have morons running the DOJ and the FBI,” Newman told the Washington Examiner, saying he is deeply concerned that the federal government is “turning its eyes inward to peaceful, patriotic individuals with different views.”
“In a presentation that is deeply offensive to pro-life Americans across the nation, Fort Liberty promoted outright lies about National Right to Life in a demonstration of lazy scholarship,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “In our over 50-year history, National Right to Life has always, consistently, and unequivocally, condemned violence against anyone.”
“Only under the Biden Administration can peaceful law-abiding citizens and their peaceful activities be considered ‘terrorism,’” Tobias said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “The Biden Administration promotes the deaths of preborn babies and advocates for unlimited abortion, but peaceful pro-life Americans are labeled ‘terrorists.’”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The insider report follows efforts from top brass in the Department of Defense to root out right-wing extremism from within the ranks, drawing criticism from Republicans.
Fort Liberty is one of the largest military installations in the world, with approximately 53,700 troops and 14,000 civilians working on the post. It contains nearly 10% of all U.S. Army forces.
