R002933
Monday, April 01, 2002 6:25 PM
Treat the Army of God as a Tourist Organization
To Attorney General Ashcroft,
I applaud the federal authorities for capturing , the man who claimed responsibility for sending hundred of anthrax hoax letters to clinics across the U.S. However, It is way past time for the Justice Department to recognize that violent anti-choice organizations exist rather that treating each murder and threat as isolated crimes by individual disaffected men. Now is the time to target the organization that enables , and men like him, to carry out violent acts against innocent people.
and others are allied with the Army of God, an anti-abortion group characterized by paramilitary tactics and linked to incidences of murder, bombings, arson and kidnapping that date back to the early '80s. The Army of God is responsible for distributing a manual that supplies detailed instructions for attacking abortion clinics, manufacturing bombs and cutting the hands off abortion doctors. The group also glorifies those, such as and , who kill workers at women's reproductive health clinics
By even cautious standards, the Army of God is clearly a terrorist organization and should be treated as such by the Department of Justice. Where possible, this should carry the following legal consequences, similar to those imposed on foreign terrorist organizations:
It is unlawful to provide funds or other material support to a designated terrorist organization.
U.S. financial institutions must block funds of designated terrorist organizations and their agents and must report the blockage to the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
The consequences of continuing to ignore the violent anti-abortion movement will be the
continuing murder of reproductive health workers and the denial of rights to American women.
Sincerely,
Individual Comment
Los Angeles, CA