The man accused of killing three people at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado on Friday was told in a Monday court appearance that he will be charged with first-degree murder.
A Colorado state judge told Robert Lewis Dear, Jr., he could get a minimum sentence of life in prison or a maximum sentence of the death penalty. Dear is alleged to have entered a Planned Parenthood facility on Friday afternoon with a gun he used to shoot a dozen people, killing three and wounding nine others. He will be formally charged Dec. 9.
It’s unclear exactly what Dear’s motives were, although police officials have said they have evidence of political motivations. Planned Parenthood has said it believes Dear attacked one of its clinics because he opposes the procedure of abortion.
Police officer Garrett Swasey and two others were killed in the shooting: 29-year-old veteran Ke’Arre Marcell Stewart, and 35-year-old Jennifer Markovsky. Dear was held in custody over the weekend after being arrested late Friday.
While anti-abortion activists and some Republicans have condemned the attack, it’s prompted Democrats to call for a halt ongoing efforts to block Planned Parenthood from getting federal dollars through Medicaid and family planning programs. Senate Republicans are currently deliberating on whether to vote later this week on a measure that defunds the group.
Abortion-rights groups say a series of undercover videos released over the summer helped prompt the attacks by stirring up anger against Planned Parenthood. The videos highlight how some centers used to be compensated financially for providing aborted fetal tissue to human tissue companies.
