The long-awaited sentencing of anti-abortion extremist and attempted murderer Shelley Shannon has shed new light on the apparent web of extremists in the United States. At Shannon’s sentencing hearing, the government sentencing memorandum revealed that other people besides Shannon were involved in Shannon’s crimes.Shannon, who is already serving an 11-year sentence for the attempted murder of Dr. George Tiller of Wichita, Kansas, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for her role in clinic arsons and butyric acid attacks in the Pacific Northwest in 1993. Shannon pleaded guilty to numerous federal charges after she abandoned her attempt at cooperating with authorities.
The Feminist Majority Foundation brought to the the federal government’s attention two important pieces of information which showed Shannon’s ongoing communication with other known extremists. One, a letter from Shannon published in an anti-abortion newsletter, spoke of how to avoid federal prosecution. The second was a communication asking supporters of Shannon and "justifiable homicide" to try to influence the court’s decision by sending letters of support for Shannon to the judge or by attending Shannon’s sentencing hearing.
In another pro-choice legal victory, the Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE) brought by the American Life League, an anti-abortion group, confirming yet again that FACE does not infringe on freedom of expression.
A possible murder of a physician was pre-empted when the FBI arrested Robert Cook, an anti-abortion extremist who allegedly robbed an armored car of $260,000 and planned to use the money to "fund a war against abortion." Cook allegedly planned to start his war by killing an unnamed abortion doctor on August 22, just six days after his arrest.
Commending the FBI and the Department of Justice for arresting Cook Feminist Majority President Eleanor Smeal said, "The FBI’s arrest of Cook, before he was able to commit violence against an abortion provider, shows that the resources the Justice Department and the FBI have put into investigating and prosecuting abortion clinic violence are paying off."
Although law enforcement authorities claim that Cook acted alone, pro-choice leaders are not convinced. Just one week after Cook’s arrest, an article by Cook appeared in a newsletter published by anti-abortion extremist David Trosch, who is an advocate of murdering abortion clinic workers to stop abortion, or "justifiable homicide."
The federal government has filed a civil suit under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act against another anti-abortion extremist. Roy McMillan is alleged to have offered to pay someone to burn down a Jackson, Mississippi abortion clinic. The complaint also contends that McMillan threatened and intimidated employees at the clinic, and blocked the entrance to another clinic.
In St. Louis, Missouri Feminist Majority Foundation organizers worked with local pro-choice groups to mobilize hundreds of clinic defenders to counter an August anti-abortion action held in conjunction with a meeting of the American Coalition of Life Activists. Pro-choice supporters outnumbered anti-abortion protesters five to one.