University Refuses to Name Official Who Helped Pro-Abortion Student Steal, Vandalize Pro-Life Signs

State   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Oct 23, 2018   |   12:53PM   |   Bloomington, Indiana

The name of an Indiana University official caught on video allegedly helping a student who vandalized a pro-life display remains unknown weeks after the student was charged in the incident.

A reporter with The College Fix contacted the Bloomington school to ask about the official and other administrators who may have been there when the vandalism occurred. However, according to the news outlet, university spokesperson Chuck Carney refused to identify the official or explain why.

Thomas P. Metcalf, 21, a student and liberal activist at the university, is facing charges of disorderly conduct, vandalism and larceny-theft after the pro-life group Created Equal caught him on video allegedly destroying their property in early October.

A video of the incident shows a man, allegedly Metcalf, stealing several of the pro-life group’s signs and putting them in a car. A few seconds later, a pro-life advocate identified as Samuel Riley approaches and removes the signs from the car. Then, a second man, allegedly a university official, offers to close the first man’s car door before he drives away.

Later, the video shows the first man returning and spray-painting several other signs while yelling profanities at the pro-lifers. The pro-lifers call the police, and the end of the video appears to show the police apprehending the man.

Created Equal President Mark Harrington said the university assigned officials to watch the site where they were doing their pro-life outreach, but the officials did nothing when the student stole their signs.

Now, the university is refusing to say who those officials were.

Here’s more from the report:

The Fix asked Carney to identify the official who closed the car door and explain why he did so, as well as identify the other officials who were present and explain their roles. The Fix also asked if IUB has a policy of sending out multiple officials to monitor pro-life demonstrations.

Carney sent a statement that said university staff and campus police took Metcalf into custody, and “other staff members” were working to “defuse the situation” between Metcalf and Created Equal. The run-ins between the Young Democratic Socialists of America activist and the pro-life protesters were “the only incident that rose to such a level” while Created Equal was on campus, he said.

Asked again to identify these taxpayer-funded IUB employees or at least give a reason to hide their identities, Carney did not oblige.

Harrington previously told LifeNews that Metcalf is a political extremist and a member of the group Young Democratic Socialists of America at IU and Black Lives Matter.

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He pointed to a video that appears to show Metcalf speaking at an anti-Kavanaugh rally and holding a “Your Voice Matters” sign. Right after his speech, someone leads the crowd in chanting: “It is right to rebel. Smash the fascists, give them hell.”

Harrington said he is not surprised, given the recent political rhetoric of pro-abortion Democrats.

“When leaders of the political left from Eric Holder to Corey Booker to Hillary Clinton are making statements that Democrats should not be civil in dealing with whom they disagree, it follows that abortion activists like Metcalf are going to take those words to heart and act upon them,” he said. “Thankfully in this case, no one got harmed, but unless abortion advocates call for civility, I don’t know how long that is going to last.”

Reports of assaults, vandalism and other harassment against pro-life advocates have been increasing rapidly in the past several months. Earlier this month, LifeNews reported about several assaults on a pro-life advocates in Toronto, Canada. One incident, which was captured on video, shows a woman shoving and throwing a metal cart at Katie Somers, a pro-life advocate with Toronto Against Abortion.

In another, a pro-life advocate with Campaign Life Coalition also reported being assaulted, allegedly by abortion activist Jordan Hunt, during a different pro-life rally Sept. 30 in Toronto. Police said Hunt turned himself in after a video of the assault went viral.

LifeNews has reported about dozens of threats, vandalism and other violence 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.

This fall, Students for Life of America also reported a spate of vandalism, including posters being torn down at Woodson High School in Virginia, signs and flags being stolen at University of Nebraska-Omaha, and posters being torn down at  Robert Morris University and Kutztown University.