Brutal assault on pro-life activists in Baltimore leaves victim with fractured face

A pro-life activist was hospitalized with facial fractures after he and another activist were assaulted by a man outside of a Planned Parenthood in Baltimore.

Mark Crosby, 73, was punched in the face and kicked in the head as he came to the aid of a fellow pro-life volunteer, 80-year-old Richard Schaefer, who was assaulted following a “visibly aggressive conversation” with the unknown male assailant.

According to surveillance video and witnesses who spoke with police, the suspect turned away from the activists, but then turned back around and tackled the 80-year-old victim over a large flower pot.

The 73-year-old man came to the victim’s aid, but the suspect shoved him to the ground and struck the man in the face while he was on his back. Police said that the suspect then kicked the 73-year-old victim with “extreme force” in the face and walked away from the scene.

Local pro-life activist John Roswell told the outlet that Mr. Crosby’s “plate bone in his upper right cheek is completely fractured” and he is “bleeding from some unidentified area behind his eye, and the bone eye orbit is completely shattered and will have to be replaced with metal.”

Mr. Crosby was diagnosed with a large hematoma, bleeding of the eye, and head and neck pain, according to police. He is currently being treated at the University of Maryland Shock Trauma facility, per LifeSite.

Mr. Schafer suffered minor injuries and is recovering at home.

Police said the suspect is a white male with brown hair and a full beard who was wearing a gray T-shirt, blue jeans and brown shoes. He remains at large.

A GoFundMe for Mr. Crosby has raised nearly $41,000 — well over its initial goal of $10,000.

The attack was witnessed by three Planned Parenthood “volunteer workers,” according to the police report obtained by The Washington Times.

“Mr. Schaefer advised the suspect had approached volunteer members of the Planned Parenthood and spoke with them before directing his attention to him,” said the police report. “Mr. Schaefer advised the suspect spoke with him in an aggressive manner, opposing Mr. Schaefer’s pro-life ideals and without warning tackled him into a large flowerpot.”

Video obtained by the police showed that Mr. Crosby ran to assist Mr. Schaefer, at which point “the suspect turns and shoves him down with both hands.”

“The video continues and shows the suspect strike Mr. Crosby in the face with a closed fist as Mr. Crosby is on his back on the ground,” said the police report. “The suspect is then observed standing up and, with extreme force, kicks Mr. Crosby directly in the face.”

Mr. Schaefer suffered a laceration to his hand and was treated at the scene.

“I think the man could very well have killed Dick if Mark hadn’t intervened,” Mr. Roswell told CBS Baltimore.

At the @ACLJ, we’re taking action to represent these two men who were brutally attacked and seriously injured for trying to minister to desperate mothers and save innocent babies. https://t.co/d4LT9qa6d5

— Jordan Sekulow (@JordanSekulow) May 31, 2023

Jordan Sekulow, executive director of the American Center for Law and Justice, said he is representing both Mr. Crosby and Mr. Schaefer.

“This is what happens when you demonize the pro-life movement,” said Mr. Sekulow on his Wednesday podcast.

He said he plans to file a civil lawsuit against the “deranged psychopath” who attacked the men after police arrest the suspect and file criminal charges.

“It is important to note that the two victims were not robbed,” Mr. Walton said in a statement to the Daily Signal. “This was a vicious attack on two men because they are pro-life. This should be treated as a hate crime and denounced by Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott (D), as well as Maryland Governor Wes Moore (D). Their silence on this attack will continue to put pro-lifers in danger throughout the state of Maryland.”

For years, he said, “Mark has prayed in front of the Planned Parenthood in Baltimore City to let the scared, young abortion-minded women know that they are loved, that their baby is loved.”

The attack comes with tensions on abortion running high after the Supreme Court’s June 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade, sending decision-making on pregnancy termination back to the states.