Documents LifeNews.com obtained today reveal the Obama administration partnered with leading pro-abortion organizations to host an FBI training seminar in August with the main focus of declaring as “violent” the free speech activities of pro-life Americans.
On August 25, 2010, the FBI and the United States Department of Justice co-sponsored a training seminar with Planned Parenthood, the National Abortion Federation and the Feminist Majority Foundation.
When information about the seminar, which took place at FBI headquarters in Portland, Oregon, reached pro-life advocates, they asked officials for permission to attend and were granted access to the seminar and the training materials.
FBI and Obama administration officials provided participants with an 84-page document entitled “Resource Guide: Violence Against Reproductive Health Care Providers” that contained print copies of Power Point presentations prepared by the Justice Department and an analysis of alleged pro-life “violence” prepared by the pro-abortion groups.
The so-called violence perpetrated by pro-life advocates mostly contained examples of constitutionally-protected free speech, including activities such as praying, providing women outside abortion centers with alternatives information, and peaceful protesting or picketing.
Matt Bowman, a top attorney at the Alliance Defense Fund, told LifeNews.com today that the cooperation between the Obama administration and pro-abortion organizations to target pro-life free speech should cause alarm.
“The information presented in the seminar raises serious concerns over the United States government’s treatment of nonviolent free speech activities as ‘violence’ subject to investigation and prosecution,” he said.
“Abortionist organizations have long lobbied to use the law to silence free speech activities. But in this seminar the FBI and USDOJ included those views in their own training seminar materials,” he added. “This raises serious concerns about the United States government investigating peaceful, legal free speech activity in efforts that are ostensibly aimed at violence.”
The Obama administration documents, on page 39-41 specifically list the names of pro-life organizations and websites sponsored by peaceful nonviolent groups.
Some of the organizations named in the FBI/DOJ seminar materials include 40 Days for Life, the ACLJ, Concerned Women for America, National Right to Life, Priests for Life, and Students for Life of America.
Julie Abbate of USDOJ, who presented at the seminar, is the attorney who filed a federal lawsuit in August 2010 against a pro-life advocate solely for leafleting while, allegedly, one time, crossing a driveway in front of an abortion center.
“The lawsuit is further evidence that USDOJ is putting its resources into prosecuting peaceful activity on public sidewalks, rather than violence,” Bowman said.
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