HotFlashReport.com - Rants by Ann Rose & Susan Hill

According to a current AP story, 5 Democratic officials in Milwaukee were arrested for "flattening the tires on 25 vehicles rented by the state Republican Party to get out the vote and deliver poll watchers November 2".

They are Sowande Omokunde, son of Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wis., and Michael Pratt, the son of former Milwaukee acting mayor Marvin Pratt. Also charged by "Democratic" Milwaukee County District Attorney E. Michael McCann are Lewis Caldwell and Lavelle Mohammad, both from Milwaukee, and Justin Howell of Racine. According to the AP article (http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/01/24/tires.slashed.ap/index.html ) they are charged with criminal damage to property, a felony that carries a maximum punishment of 3 1/2 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The FBI was apparently involved in their apprehension.

The irony with all of this is that one of the abortion clinics in town, Summit Women's Health Organization" (http://www.gynpages.com/swho) has regularly been the victim of anti-abortion violence that not only includes tire-slashings, but also includes arson, vandalism, glue lockings, an anthrax threat, stalking of staff members and doctors, etc.

You see, "Democratic" Milwaukee County District Attorney E. Michael McCann is also anti-abortion, and despite repeated instances of violence at the clinic, he has steadfastly refused to pursue any criminal punishment against the perpetrators of crimes against the abortion clinic. As far as we know, the FBI has not been heavily involved in any of these anti-abortion crimes. Over the years, the Milwaukee police have made many arrests, but McCann has refused to prosecute these anti-abortion criminals. The police therefore hardly pay any attention to the clinic violence any more. The clinic just has to deal with it.

It is reported that years ago, McCann even made a public statement saying that he would never prosecute anti-abortion protesters.

Examples of his massive indifference to anti-abortion violence include the following:

1. According to the Missionaries for the Preborn (http://www.missionariestopreborn.com/default.asp?fuseaction=newsletter8), they regularly picket the Summit Women's Health Organization 5 days a week and "continue to conduct pickets and leaflet campaigns in the neighborhoods of the clinic workers. Two of them have quit in the last month due to their efforts!"
NOBODY HAS BEEN ARRESTED & CHARGED FOR THIS!

2. Summit Women's Health Organization was one of the clinic plaintiffs in the NOW v. Scheidler RICO case against Joe Scheidler and anti-abortionists. During the Bush Administration, the Supreme Court sent back to lower courts the Fedreral court victory which awarded the clinic damages for years of repeated violence. Testimony in the Federal trial included evidence that a lab employee had stolen fetuses from the clinic meant for medical disposal and given them to anti-abortionists who took them around the country conducting "fetus funerals" and claiming that the fetuses were found in garbage cans outside local abortion clinics.
NOBODY HAS BEEN ARRESTED & CHARGED FOR THIS!

3. I was personally there one day and parked my rental car 2 blocks away from the clinic. I was cautious walking to the clinic to ensure that I wasn't followed or observed. In spite of that, when I went to get in my car at the end of the day, all 4 tires were slashed.
NOBODY HAS BEEN ARRESTED & CHARGED FOR THIS!

4. Doctors from other states who flew into town were regularly stalked and harassed by anti-abortionists when they'd fly into town. They had to come to town to perform abortions because no local doctors would perform abortions at the time.
NOBODY HAS BEEN ARRESTED & CHARGED FOR THIS!

5. Harassment of physicians and clinics is detailed in this Harper’s article (http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1111/is_n1736_v289/ai_16003361/pg_1) from 1995.
NOBODY HAS BEEN ARRESTED OR CONVICTED FOR THIS

6. Other incidents reported to police where nobody was ever charged and convicted include: keying cars in the parking lot, videotaping patients, throwing red paint balloons on the building (and city sidewalk), toxic Butyric Acid attacks, locks glued shut with super glue, and a bogus anthrax attack,.

This pattern of intimidation and harassment has not only financially impacted the individual clinics who have to hire additional security and take extra precautions, but they also cost local police forces in additional staffing for security, etc.

Daunting to any business would be this historical review from 1977-1996 of activities against abortion clinics:

* 6 Murders
* 12 Attempted murders
* 41 Bombings
* 108 Arsons
* 69 Attempted bombing/arsons
* 351 Invasions
* 616 Vandalism
* 97 Assault & Battery
* 268 Death Threats
* 2 Kidnappings
* 37 Burglary
* 277 Stalking
* 3,020 Hate Mail & Phone Calls
* 354 Bomb Threats
* 9,366 Picketing
* 641 Blockades

On the other hand in 1998, the wife of an abortion doctor mooned the anti-abortionists who were picketing her house in a private Milwaukee neighborhood. She was cited and convicted for indecent exposure.

And now the Democratic activists go down for slashing tires.

Sure looks like selective prosecution in Milwaukee to me.

Milwaukee is just a microcosm of the anti-abortion harassment and violence that still continues to this day all around the country.

Ashcroft, of course, didn’t help on national level, especially with the post-911 clinic anthrax hoaxes that hit Milwaukee and many other cities.
Pro-Choice Targets Of Anthrax Hoaxes Get Little Help From Ashcroft
http://nyc.indymedia.org/newswire/display/12438/index.php

In the wake of 911, these anthrax attacks were finally taken seriously by Federal authorities and Clayton Wagner was arrested and convicted.

This situation is similar to conditions around the country. Abortion clinics have been historically been subjected to harassment, intimidation, stalking, arson, anthrax, butyric acid attacks, glue lockings, and even murder. These incidents are generally given little attention are are considered “business as usual” by many clinics who are just trying to get through the day and provide services to their clients.

If this kind of concerted, choreographed effort had been perpetrated against any other business type...say all fast food restaurants...I guarantee there would have been vigorous investigations and many prosecutions over the years and the illegal activities would have stopped by now. But, they continue. The Milwaukee clinic is regularly harassed to this day. The staff is numb to this activity and just tries to provide services in the best possible way.

Summaries of these incidents can be found at:
Feminist Majority Foundation Annual Clinic Survey (http://www.feminist.org/rrights/clinicsurvey.html)
National Abortion Federation Clinic Violence (http://www.prochoice.org/about_abortion/violence/index.html)