'Beyond alarming:' Fort Liberty anti-terrorism briefing lists pro-life orgs as 'terrorist groups'
Fort Liberty in North Carolina is facing criticism this week after a training slide circulated on social media purported to show the U.S. Army base referring to pro-life organizations as "terrorist groups" and highlighted people who have pro-life license plates on their cars as potential threats.
The viral photo shows a slide used in the briefing titled "Terrorist Groups" that cited the activist organizations National Right to Life and Operation Rescue as examples.
The slide listed various forms of pro-life advocacy, such as counseling women outside of abortion facilities and displaying a "Choose Life" license plate as examples of concerning behavior. These license plates raise funds for pro-life pregnancy centers, nonprofit organizations that provide women facing unexpected pregnancies with free resources.
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The presentation did not appear to distinguish between law-abiding and illegal pro-life activities, as it listed counseling on the sidewalk or at pregnancy centers in the same slide that highlighted a tactic labeled "The Rescue." This form of activism usually consists of pro-lifers risking arrest to pass out pregnancy help information to women inside of abortion facilities. Pro-lifers who utilize this tactic may leave before the police arrive or stage a sit-in, which typically results in an arrest.
The slide also appeared to insinuate that all of the actions listed were examples of someone who could bomb an abortion facility or commit violence against abortion workers.
An anti-terrorism brief was held on Fort Liberty (Bragg) today where they listed several Pro-Life organizations as “terrorist organizations.”
— Shoe (@samosaur) July 11, 2024
The slide you see here followed right after a slide about ISIS, a terror group in the Middle East.
The organizations labeled by the… pic.twitter.com/vlO6XjyGzE
In a Thursday statement provided to The Christian Post, National Right to Life President Carol Tobias called the briefing "deeply offensive" to pro-life Americans, adding that the "outright lies" about the organization were a "demonstration of lazy scholarship."
"In our over 50-year history, National Right to Life has always, consistently, and unequivocally condemned violence against anyone," the pro-life leader said. "The Biden Administration promotes the deaths of preborn babies and advocates for unlimited abortion, but peaceful pro-life Americans are labeled 'terrorists.'"
Following the leak of the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision that abortion is not a right conferred by the U.S. Constitution, radical pro-choice activists retaliated by vandalizing or firebombing pro-life pregnancy resource centers. While some of these activists have been convicted, there are still several vandals who have yet to face prosecution, prompting some to accuse the U.S. Department of Justice under the Biden administration of bias against pro-lifers.
Tony Perkins, president of the Washington-based Christian conservative activist organization, called the news "Beyond alarming" in an X post Thursday.
"Being pro-life, peacefully advocating for the sanctity of human life, and attempting to stop the murder of unborn children makes you a terrorist?" Perkins asked, before referencing Isaiah 5:20. "'Woe to those [the Biden administration] who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!'" Perkins wrote.
Fort Liberty responded to the controversy surrounding the slide in a Thursday statement, saying that the slide presented did not reflect the views of the XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Liberty, the U.S. Army or the Department of Defense. The statement also claimed that the slides had not been properly vetted by the appropriate approval authorities prior to the briefing.
"The slides were developed by a local garrison employee to train Soldiers manning access control points at Fort Liberty," the statement reads. "These slides will no longer be used, and all future training products will be reviewed to ensure they align with the current DoD anti-terrorism guidance."
Forty Liberty did not immediately respond to The Christian Post's request for comment.
A Fort Liberty representative told WRAL that these types of briefings take place every couple of weeks, and the timing of the presentation that has generated media attention is hard to verify. The representative speculated that the briefing may have taken place this week with as many as 40 attendees; however, the spokesperson noted that Fort Liberty is still investigating the exact number.
Anne Reed, a senior policy advisor with Operation Rescue, told WRAL that the slide seemed familiar, speculating that it may have been part of a different briefing from around 15 years ago.
"The fact that this is being pushed out to the American public is very concerning to us," Reed said about the recent briefing.
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
