Police Looking for Abortion Activist Who Assaulted Pro-Life Woman

International   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Oct 4, 2018   |   12:38PM   |   Toronto, Canada

Toronto police said they have not yet arrested a man who was caught on video allegedly kicking a young, female pro-life advocate Sunday in Toronto.

The Toronto Sun reports police said they are investigating the incident, and several people submitted tips on social media about the man’s possible identity. Police said they are looking into the tips but have not made an arrest at this time.

A video of the incident that went viral earlier this week shows a male abortion activist roundhouse kicking a pro-life woman as she records her conversation with him. The woman later identified herself as Campaign Life Coalition Youth Coordinator Marie-Claire Bissonnette.

On Wednesday, Nobel Studio 101, a hair studio in Toronto, posted a message on Instagram identifying the man as Jordan Hunt, one of its former employees. The business said it fired Hunt after seeing him on the now-viral video.

The Daily Hive reports the incident occurred Sunday when pro-life advocates gathered at the corner of Bloor and Keele streets in Toronto for the annual Life Chain, a peaceful, prayer-filled event to publicly witness about the tragedy of abortion. A few abortion activists showed up to counter-protest.

Bissonnette was participating in the Life Chain when she filmed the man – allegedly Hunt – assaulting her.

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The Daily Hive reports:

Bissonnette says she was assaulted by a man that afternoon.

She alleges that a man took out markers and defaced two of the group’s signs.

“After these acts of vandalism, he approached the pro-abortion demonstrator, evidently in order to seek her approval, which she appeared to deny him by discouraging his tactics,” she said. “At this point I took out my cell phone and began to record him, telling him that what he did was destruction of private property and it was against the law.” …

In the video, the man is seen “roundhouse-kicking” Bissonnette, and her phone drops to the ground as she asks for someone to call the police.

Bissonnette said the man also defaced several of their signs and scribbled on several pro-lifers’ clothes, including those of a 10-year-old girl, the Washington Free Beacon reports.

She said she filed a report with police Sunday. Later, she told the Toronto Sun that she does plan to press charges when police arrest the man.

Bissonnette also posted a message on Twitter late Wednesday asking people to pray for the man.

“Marie-Claire here – I’m fine. Thank you to all those who’ve reached out in concern. A few people have identified the man who attacked me. I understand the video is upsetting to watch, but please pray for the guy,” she said.

The young pro-life advocate also said this is not the first time she has been a target of violence.

“I’ve had teenage boys throw rocks at me, I’ve also had men saying, ‘How would you like it if I raped you?” she told Global News Canada. “My message to them would be that it doesn’t fulfill their goal, it turns me off from their message and the basis of a peaceful society is being able to discuss respectfully with each other.”

Here’s more from that report:

A Toronto police spokesperson said Wednesday evening that the investigation into the incident is still ongoing. They could not confirm the identity of the man in the video and it’s not clear if Hunt has been identified as a person of interest or if any charges will be laid in relation to the incident.

Global News attempted to contact Hunt for comment Wednesday evening, but he could not be reached.

On Wednesday morning, Campaign Life Coalition sent out a call for help online.

“PLEASE WATCH AND SHARE,” it posted on Twitter with a link to the video. “Our Youth Coordinator was assaulted on the weekend during #lifechain. If you have any tips on who he is or where he may be please call Toronto Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. This violence against pro-lifers needs to STOP!”

Bissonnette indicated that she was not the only person targeted Sunday during the Life Chains. In Mississagua, she said someone walked up to a pro-life advocate from behind and poured paint over his clothes while he was praying.

LifeNews has reported about dozens of threats, vandalism and other violence against pro-life advocates in the past year. These range from threats against prominent pro-life politicians like U.S. Reps. Chris Smith, Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Steve Scalise to a Missouri sidewalk counselor who had a gun pointed at him.

In September, a popular conservative blogger was under police protection after she received rape and death threats because of a pro-life tweet. In June, a Florida man who volunteers at Planned Parenthood was arrested after he allegedly threatened to kill pro-life U.S. Rep. Brian Mast’s children. Then in August, someone threatened to rape and kill the family of a pro-life advocate with Operation Rescue.

Within the past month, two Republican party offices also have been targeted. One in Illinois was vandalized with spraypaint, while local authorities said someone intentionally set fire to another in Wyoming.

Students for Life also has documented more than 40 incidents of vandalism alone in the past five years against its pro-life students groups. An interactive map displays the places where its clubs have been victims of vandalism.