Police make arrest in second attack on pregnancy center firebombed by abortion activists
Police have arrested a suspect in connection with the second vandalism of the same pro-life pregnancy center in less than a year.
The Amherst Police Department in Amherst, New York, announced in a statement Saturday that it had arrested Hannah Kamke, 39, in connection with the March 16 vandalism of CompassCare, a pro-life pregnancy center in the Buffalo area. The statement noted that Kamke’s arrest on charges of criminal mischief in the third degree “is the result of an investigation by the Amherst Police Department with the assistance of the FBI.”
The facility was firebombed last June, just weeks after Politico published a draft of a United States Supreme Court decision indicating that a majority of justices were inclined to overturn the Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. The perpetrators of that attack remain at large.
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CompassCare, which rebuilt its severely damaged facility in less than two months, was one of several pro-life pregnancy centers and churches that were damaged by vandals following the publication of the leaked draft opinion in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. The official ruling determined that the U.S. Constitution does not contain a right to abortion, which had been the argument of pro-abortion activists for several decades.
The Rev. Jim Harden, CEO of CompassCare, has emerged as one of the most outspoken critics of federal law enforcement’s response to the wave of attacks.
In a statement reacting to Kamke’s arrest, Harden said the persistent attacks on pregnancy centers are “an indictment on the FBI and the hundreds of other local law enforcement agencies that have allowed the FBI to usurp their investigative duty. The FBI has less evidence for the March 16 vandalism than they do for the June 7 firebombing, yet they somehow were able to identify a suspect and make an arrest within days.”
“We’ve been saying all along that the FBI possesses this kind of forensic power but has chosen not to employ it on behalf of pro-life people when victimized by pro-abortion Maoist Antifa,” he added.
CompassCare identified this month’s defacement of the CompassCare sign as well as last year’s firebombing of the facility as violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which subjects those who damage or destroy the property of a facility that “provides reproductive health services” to federal charges.
Harden is considering whether to press charges against Kamke for violating the FACE Act. In the past, those who carry out pro-abortion violence have faced charges under federal law even though it is more frequently used to prosecute pro-life activists who attempt to block women from entering abortion clinics. In January, a Florida grand jury indicted two pro-abortion activists for vandalizing pro-life pregnancy centers in the Florida cities of Winter Haven and Hollywood.
Besides the pro-abortion activists in Florida and Kamke, relatively few arrests have been made in connection to the wave of violence directed at pro-life pregnancy centers and churches.
While the FBI insisted to The Christian Post last year that it was looking into FACE Act charges in certain instances of pro-abortion vandalism and is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for firebombing CompassCare, Harden remains unsatisfied with federal agency's actions thus far.
Harden previously suggested that the FBI offering reward money to find the vandals who firebombed his facility “may be nothing more than an attempt to appear evenhanded.”
The establishment of the reward money came less than a week after the 2022 midterm elections, where Republicans took control of the House from Democrats. Additionally, Harden contended that “if they are serious about finding the perpetrators, they will offer a $25K reward for each of the 150 pro-life organizations that have been attacked — $3.75 million dollars.”
The CompassCare CEO has partnered with private investigators to bring the perpetrators of the firebombing and other instances of pro-abortion violence to justice. While the specific identities of the vandals behind the CompassCare firebombing are still unknown, the pro-abortion group Jane’s Revenge claimed credit for the attack in a communique published a week after the attack.
Jane’s Revenge listed “Buffalo” as one of many cities where it targeted pro-life organizations. The group declared “open season” on “anti-choice” centers after they failed to comply with their demand laid out in a previous communique to disband within 30 days.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: [email protected]
