Marco Rubio Slams Merrick Garland for Not Investigating Violence Against Pro-Life Groups

National | Micaiah Bilger | Jun 10, 2022 | 4:49PM | Washington, DC

Attorney General Merrick Garland faced more criticism Friday for not doing enough to protect U.S. Supreme Court justices and pro-life advocates from growing threats of violence by radical abortion activists.

In a letter, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, asked Garland how his agency is responding to the escalating violence especially after authorities reported an assassination attempt on Justice Brett Kavanaugh near his home this week.

“Violent acts like this should come as no surprise, given that the threats made outside of the Justices’ homes were precisely the cause for alarm that we referenced in asking the DOJ to hold these bad actors accountable,” Rubio wrote in his follow-up letter Friday. A D.C. Examiner journalist shared the letter on Twitter.

At least three pro-life organizations have been the victims of arson in recent weeks, and there have been dozens of acts of vandalism, assaults and threats against pro-lifers and churches.

Rubio asked Garland why his department has “failed to investigate acts of violence” against pro-life pregnancy centers and other organizations, and whether the department will classify the crimes as domestic terrorism. He also wanted to know if Garland is working with other federal agencies to investigate the escalating violence.

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“The DOJ must protect the integrity of the Court and protect the rights and freedoms of pro-life organizations,” Rubio wrote.

Last month, the Florida lawmaker also wrote a letter asking Garland to “publicly condemn and investigate the ongoing and unlawful efforts designed to intimidate Supreme Court Justices, including by ‘protesters’ who made threats outside their homes following the leak …”

While Garland and the Biden administration have condemned violence, they have not condemned protests outside the justices’ homes since Politico reported about a leaked draft ruling showing the high court overturning Roe v. Wade this summer. Federal law prohibits protests outside the homes of judges, witnesses, jurors and court officials; such actions are considered intimidation and interference in the judicial system.

Quoting former White House press secretary Jen Psaki, Rubio asked if President Joe Biden still “encourages” protests “outside of the judges’ homes” in light of the recent reports.

Many are calling on the U.S. House to pass a bill to enhance federal protections for the Supreme Court justices and their families. The Senate passed the bill with bipartisan support in May, but Rubio said House Democrat leaders, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have been “stonewalling” the legislation.

“This kind of partisan politicking by House leadership has hamstrung critical judicial security measures and made the DOJ’s responsibility of enforcing federal law even greater,” Rubio told Garland, urging him to “commit to investigating and prosecuting criminal actors who have answered the call to violence.”

A pro-abortion group, Ruth Sent Us, caused more alarm this week when it mentioned the young children of two Supreme Court justices and posted a photo on Twitter of where some of them attend school with a warning about their “safety.” The same group published the justices’ home addresses online publicly in May.

Other pro-abortion groups have been calling for churches, especially Catholic Churches, to be the target of abortion activists’ outrage.

According to Axios, a recent report from the Department of Homeland Security warned that radical abortion activists may burn down or storm the Supreme Court building and murder justices and their law clerks if the court overturns Roe. The report indicates these pro-abortion extremists also plan to target churches and other places of worship.

The Supreme Court is expected to release its final ruling on the Mississippi abortion case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health this summer, potentially later this month.

Since Roe in 1973, more than 63 million unborn babies and hundreds of mothers have died in supposedly “safe, legal” abortions.

Reports of violence and other hostilities since the leak include:

Maryland – Police Arrest Man with Weapon outside Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh’s Home, Allegedly Threatened to Murder Him (Washington Post)

North Carolina – Asheville Pregnancy Center Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Graffiti (Lauren Muzyka/Sidewalk Advocates for Life) (more at FOX Carolina)

New York – Abortion Activists Firebomb Pro-Life Pregnancy Center, Third Bombing in Weeks

New York – Pro-Abortion Protesters Mob Catholic Pro-Life Procession (National Review)

Texas – Radical Abortion Activists Invade Church Service to Promote Killing Babies

Florida – Pro-Abortion Violence Continues as Abortion Activists Vandalize Catholic Pro-Life Office

Washington, D.C. – Abortion Activists Trash Pregnancy Center: Dump Paint on Door, Egg Windows, Write “Revenge” on Wall

Pennsylvania – Pro-Life Billboard Vandalized in Pittsburgh (ProLife Across America)

Oregon – Mother and Child center vandalized; Address was publicized by group that favors abortion rights (Catholic Sentinel)

Oregon – Eugene Pregnancy Center Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Graffiti (Andy Ngo)