A Catholic student ministry in Nebraska received a note threatening to “shoot up” its center “if our right to abortion in Bellevue is taken away.”
The St. John Paul II Newman Center reported the note, taped to its door, to law enforcement Saturday afternoon. The center is located near the University of Nebraska-Omaha’s Scott Campus.
Monday morning, a similar note was found on the door of Christ Community Church, a large non-denominational congregation in western Omaha, echoing the same threat of gun violence should an anti-abortion measure under consideration in neighboring Bellevue become law.
The abortion ban referred to in the threat is part of a broader initiative known as “Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn,” which seeks to place restrictions on abortion within the city limits of a town.
The statement from the measure’s filing reads:
“A proposed ordinance outlawing abortion, abortion-inducing drugs, Human Trafficking, declaring Bellevue a sanctuary for the unborn and providing for remedies including a private cause of action to enforce the same and criminal penalties, encouraging the limiting of access to certain information by internet companies and requiring the Public Library to restrict access to certain information.”
Proponents of it in Bellevue have until the end of January to gather signatures from 20% of qualified electors in the city to place an ordinance before the city council. Should the council fail to pass the ordinance, a special election would then allow voters to decide the measure’s fate.
The notes’ author claims to represent Jane’s Revenge, an abortion rights extremist group Homeland Security has linked to vandalism and arson attacks against pro-life facilities.
Kristan Mercer Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, posted a photograph of the note, addressed to the Rev. Dan Andrews, the center’s director.
“Dear Dan Andrews,
If our right to abortion in Bellevue is taken away due to the attempt to pass an abortion ban and it gets passed we will shoot up your Newman center with our new AR14 rifles.
Sincerely,
Jane’s revenge.”
The second note, found at the church, made specific threats toward the pastor of that church, also referring to the Bellevue abortion measure. Both notes threatened gun violence.
The pro-abortion group claims widespread membership across the United States, although the actual number of those involved in the organization remains unverified.
The group is credited with popularizing the phrase, “If abortions aren’t safe then you aren’t either,” a warning frequently graffitied on pregnancy counseling centers and other pro-life facilities.
Jane’s revenge has claimed responsibility for more than two dozen fire bombings, other forms of arson, and vandalism attacks on pro-life advocates since May of this year.
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, tweeted about the rise of pro-abortion violence in October.
“More than 100 pro-life organizations have been attacked since the Dobbs leak,” he wrote of the U.S Supreme Court case that overturned Roe vs. Wade. “Can you imagine the media outrage if 100 pro-abortion organizations were attacked? Where’s the DOJ?”
Many of Jordan’s fellow Republicans have called for Jane’s Revenge to be declared a terrorist organization, which would trigger involvement of federal law enforcement agencies.
Only the Omaha Police Department is currently investigating.
Should the probe discover the group indeed has the capacity and intention of making good on those threats, it would likely result in a federal investigation.
