A group claiming responsibility for a recent fire at the headquarters of an anti-abortion organization has pledged that more attacks are coming.
The group, calling itself "Jane's Revenge," allegedly claimed to have set fire to the Wisconsin Family Action building in Madison, Wisconsin, on Saturday, according to Bellingcat reporter Robert Evans. Evans purportedly received the "first communiqué" from the group, sharing some of the messages he received in a series of tweets on Tuesday.
"This was only a warning," the group allegedly said. "We demand the disbanding of all anti-choice establishments, fake clinics, and violent anti-choice groups within the next 30 days."
The name of the group appears to invoke "Jane Roe," the pseudonym used by Texas woman Norma McCorvey, who in 1969 sought to get an abortion despite the practice being illegal in most cases in her state. Her fake last name eventually became part of the famed Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade, that in 1973 ensured abortion access nationwide. However, the decision is now imperiled. A recently leaked draft opinion showed that the Court is on the verge of overturning it.
Newsweek has been unable to independently verify the veracity of the group's statements. Evans claimed to have received the messages from a source with "a reputation for extreme reliability." Madison Police and the FBI have not commented on the matter.
Jane's Revenge further claimed to represent numerous factions of abortion-rights activists in multiple cities. They also gave a cryptic clue to the nature of their next attacks.
"Next time the infrastructure of the enslavers will not survive," the group says. "Medical imperialism will not face a passive enemy. Wisconsin is the first flashpoint, but we are all over the US, and we will issue no further warnings."
Authorities investigating the scene of the Wisconsin Family Action fire found evidence of two Molotov cocktails, according to the Chippewa Herald. Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said that these devices were used in an attempt to set a fire inside that building that did not work. The fire that was started ultimately took five minutes to extinguish. They also notably found an incendiary message spray-painted on the side of the building: "If abortions aren't safe then you aren't either."
Both Chief Barnes and FBI assistant special agent Robert Paine told local press outlets that there is no evidence of similar incidents being planned in Madison.
Newsweek reached out to the Madison Police Department for comment.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Thomas Kika is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in upstate New York. His focus is reporting on crime and national ... Read more
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