uthorities confirmed that two Molotov cocktails were used to firebomb the offices of a prominent Wisconsin anti-abortion lobbying group over the weekend.
During the attack, vandals also spray painted the walls with the chilling message: ‘If abortions aren’t safe you aren’t either.’
No one has been arrested and there are no suspects in custody in the fire that was discovered early Sunday morning.
It was spotted when someone driving to Madison’s nearby airport noticed flames coming from the office building that is home to Wisconsin Family Action, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said at a news conference on Monday.
Barnes added that there is no evidence that this act was an ‘inside job.’
One Molotov cocktail thrown into the Wisconsin Family Action office failed to ignite and the investigation is ongoing as to whether the second one did, the police chief said, although a room at the foundation was badly-damaged by fire.
Wisconsin Family Action is a non-profit organization that supports pro-life measures.
The attack comes just days after a leaked U.S. Supreme Court opinion revealed that the court may overturn the landmark 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion across the country.
‘Violence does not solve the issues we´re facing as a country,’ Evers said.
The president of the lobbying group, Julaine Appling, said she believed the vandalism was a direct response to the leak of the court’s draft opinion.
She said ‘this attack fails to frighten us, and instead steels the resolve of law-abiding, common-sense, every-day folks to stand up and push back.’
Wisconsin Family Action has been a prominent force in the state for years, advocating for laws to limit access to abortions, fighting to overturn Roe v. Wade and working on numerous other hot-button social issues.
Politicians from both parties swiftly condemned the vandalism.
Clinics that perform abortions have sometimes been targeted by vandals, too, including as recently as January when a Planned Parenthood clinic in Tennessee was hit by arson.