NAPA, Calif. -- Life Legal has seen a dramatic escalation of violence outside abortion mills across the country. In the most recent attacks, several men shot pellet guns at pro-lifers outside a Planned Parenthood facility in Napa, California on two separate occasions.
On November 4, a youth group gathered to pray outside the abortion mill when two men drove by and shot pellets at the group. The shooters hit an 11-year-old girl in the eye and struck several other teens in the chest and face. A young woman pushing a stroller was also hit with pellets. While the victims were stunned by the attack, thankfully they were not seriously injured.
A week later, assailants shot pellets at sidewalk counselors and pro-life advocates who pray daily outside Planned Parenthood. Life Legal Chief Financial Officer Mary Riley, who is part of the prayer team, was hit in the head.
Pellet guns are dangerous -- even deadly -- weapons. In a recent pellet gun shooting in nearby San Jose, California, the shooter was charged with multiple counts of assault with a deadly weapon after a teenager was hit in the chest, resulting in a collapsed lung.
Our legal team is in contact with Napa law enforcement. We provided them with video evidence of the shooting and the officers know who fired the shots. Inexplicably, no charges have been filed against the shooters to date.
When Life Legal Founder Col. Ron Maxson showed up to the site this week with a large sign to protect pro-lifers from further attacks, Planned Parenthood called the police. Officers arrived immediately and threatened Col Maxson with criminal charges if he did not take down the sign. They also told pro-lifers on the scene that they "should not be out here."
"I am appalled that the Napa Police Department has taken such a callous attitude toward the lives and constitutional rights of children and adults who are being assaulted solely because of their pro-life views," said Life Legal Senior Counsel Allison Aranda. "As a former prosecutor, I expect the shooters to be punished to the full extent of the law to ensure that public sidewalks in Napa are open to free speech without the threat of violence. If charges are not filed, we will seek legal recourse to protect the pro-life community. And we expect law enforcement to no longer harass people for exercising their constitutionally-protected right to free speech."
Life Legal is handling a number of cases involving assaults against pro-lifers outside abortion mills around the country, including an attack in Jackson, MS in which an abortion worker ran her car into a pro-lifer outside the abortion mill that was at the heart of the Supreme Court case in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade.
--------------------------
About Life Legal Defense Foundationwww.lldf.org.
Life Legal Defense Foundation was established in 1989, and is a nonprofit organization composed of attorneys and other concerned citizens committed to giving helpless and innocent human beings of any age, and their advocates, a trained and committed voice in the courtrooms of our nation. For more information about the Life Legal Defense Foundation, visit