An abortion activist drove by a group of pro-life people peacefully praying at a local Austin, Texas abortion clinic and threw a firebomb at them. Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident.
Staff with the Central Texas Coalition for Life informed LifeNews.com of the incident via email.
“Yesterday evening toward the end of the daily prayer vigil, a passerby threw a flaming object at the prayer volunteers. Fortunately no one was injured and the flames were put out quickly,” the group said. “This is not the first time people have thrown objects at pro-lifers but clearly this instance was a more direct threat, and we always want to exercise caution.”
“The prayer volunteers handled the situation very well – one took a photo of the license plate of the vehicle, another called the police and her Day Captain to report the incident. The police soon caught and arrested the female driver. Eventually KXAN News came out and interviewed one of our brave volunteers, Ruth,” the group added.
UPDATE: Local news sources indicate a Melanie Toney has been arrested for the alleged assault.
A woman who police say threw a Molotov cocktail at a group of women praying in front of a Planned Parenthood clinic on Monday evening is charged with aggravated assault. Austin police and members of the bomb squad responded the location on E. Ben White Boulevard received the call shortly after 6 p.m.
According to the executive director of Central Texas Coalition for Life, the group was able to record the suspect’s license plate number before she drove away, which led police to 52-year-old Melanie Toney. Toney was pulled over less than three miles away from the clinic.
When officers interviewed Toney, she initially denied everything but later admitted to throwing the bottle and that it “might” have been smoldering when she threw it out of her window, according to an affidavit.
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The local news station has more on what happened and the arrest of the perpetrator:
Police arrested a driver Monday night who they say threw a flaming object from a car near the Planned Parenthood clinic on East Ben White Boulevard near South Congress. Austin police received the call shortly after 6 p.m., and members of the bomb squad responded. No one was injured and nothing was damaged, police said.
KXAN spoke to Ruth Allwein, a member of pro-life campaign 40 Days For Life, Monday evening. Allwein said she was praying outside the clinic when a driver threw the object at her.
“I realized she was throwing something out the window and it was on fire,” Allwein said. “So I backed away and turned around to see if I could tell what the car looked like, but I couldn’t.”
Police could only provide initial information Monday night and were unable to confirm all of the details provided by Allwein.
The pro-life organization continued: “The safety of our volunteers is of utmost importance which is why it is necessary to have at least 2 people praying at all times. Our approach has always been that we have a peaceful prayerful attitude and be aware of our surroundings, which is what these volunteers exemplified. Let us pray for all involved. Thank you to everyone who boldly takes a stand for life!
