Fort Liberty does about-face after identifying pro-life organizations as ‘terrorist groups’

Fort Liberty has walked back a slideshow presentation on terrorism that named two pro-life organizations as “terrorist groups,” saying it was a mistake.

Fort Liberty, the U.S. Army installation in North Carolina formerly known as Fort Bragg, said Thursday on social media that a slide identifying the National Right to Life and Operation Rescue as “terrorist organizations” was “not vetted” and “will no longer be used.”

“It came to our attention that an anti-terrorism slide was posted on social media,” said Fort Liberty on Facebook.

“After conducting a commander’s inquiry, we determined that the slides presented on social media were not vetted by the appropriate approval authorities, and do not reflect the views of the XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Liberty, the U.S. Army or the Department of Defense,” the post said.

Journalism watchdog Sam Shoemate posted a photo Wednesday of a slide labeled as part of an anti-terrorism briefing at Fort Liberty that listed the two pro-life organizations as “terrorist groups,” as well as the New York “Choose Life” license plate.

The slide described the two groups as being involved in activities such as “demonstrations and protests” and “oppose Row [sic] v Wade” as well as “bombings of clinics.”

Mr. Shoemate told his readers on X to “keep in mind they’re not labeling them as extremist organizations (which would still be crazy), but as terrorist organizations.”

“The military and Dept of Defense are insanely out of control. Service-members are being indoctrinated to view Pro-Life groups as the enemy,” he wrote.

An anti-terrorism brief was held on Fort Liberty (Bragg) today where they listed several Pro-Life organizations as “terrorist organizations.”

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

— Shoe (@samosaur) July 11, 2024

The National Right to Life, which has long rejected the use of violence in pro-life advocacy, accused Fort Liberty of spreading “outright lies.”

“In a presentation that is deeply offensive to pro-life Americans across the nation, Fort Liberty promoted outright lies about National Right to Life in a demonstration of lazy scholarship,” said National Right to Life President Carol Tobias.

“In our over 50-year history, National Right to Life has always, consistently, and unequivocally, condemned violence against anyone,” she said.

There have been a handful of cases where individual activists bombed clinics or killed clinic staffers, but mainstream pro-life organizations and churches condemned those actions.

Sen. Ted Budd, North Carolina Republican, said Thursday that the Army has launched an investigation into the slideshow at his behest.

“Smearing pro-life Americans as terrorists is despicable,” Mr. Budd said on X. “The materials briefed at Fort Liberty are disturbing. As soon as I became aware of it, I directed my team to contact Army and Fort Liberty officials. They have begun an investigation. The Army must get to the bottom of this and see that it never happens again.”

Fort Liberty said that the “slides were developed by a local garrison employee to train Soldiers manning access control points at Fort Liberty.”

“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,” said the fort in its post.

Ms. Tobias linked the slide to the Biden administration’s staunch pro-choice advocacy in the aftermath of Dobbs v. Jackson, the 2022 Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.

“Only under the Biden Administration can peaceful law-abiding citizens and their peaceful activities be considered ‘terrorism’” said Ms. Tobias. “The Biden Administration promotes the deaths of preborn babies and advocates for unlimited abortion, but peaceful pro-life Americans are labeled ‘terrorists.’”

At least 90 pro-life offices and pregnancy centers have been attacked since the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs, according to the CatholicVote tracker.