More than 80 House and Senate Republicans demanded answers on a Fort Liberty anti-terrorism training session that labeled two pro-life organizations as “terrorist groups,” calling the presentation “despicable.”
The 87 lawmakers asked Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth to conduct a “full investigation” into the training, including how long the Army has used the slide that identifies National Right to Life and Operation Rescue as terrorism organizations.
“Smearing Pro-Life Americans is despicable and emblematic of the ongoing politicization of the military under the Biden-Harris administration,” said the Friday letter led by Sen. Ted Budd and Rep. Richard Hudson, both North Carolina Republicans.
“The American public expects the Department of Defense and its personnel to defend the homeland from actual terrorists, not Americans who seek protections for children in the womb,” they said.
The slide posted on social media headlined “Terrorist Groups” shows the logos of the two anti-abortion organizations, as well as the New York “Choose Life” license plate.
Fort Liberty, the U.S. Army installation in North Carolina formerly known as Fort Bragg, called a retreat Thursday on the training, saying that it was “not vetted” and “will no longer be used.”
“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,” said the Fort Liberty statement.
In their letter, the Republican lawmakers said that the slide was used to brief soldiers as recently as July 10.
“[T]he American people are rightfully concerned that training of this kind is being disseminated in the first place and possibly at other military installations,” said the letter. “The American people deserve to be assured that these slides truly do not reflect the Army’s views, that a full investigation will be conducted, and that any offending employees will be properly held accountable.”
They concluded that “we must be assured that similar materials are not being utilized at other installations across the Army.”
UPDATE: Despite Fort Liberty’s claims that the slide calling pro-life organizations terrorist groups was unapproved, it’s been a part of training for military police and ACP for years.
— Shoe (@samosaur) July 11, 2024
The video linked below uses the same slide posted here yesterday, yet the video was posted on… https://t.co/2pCrHqueec pic.twitter.com/AU8opeJPyu
Sam Shoemate, the journalism watchdog who posted the slide online, said Friday that the presentation has “been part of the training for military police and ACP [Army Coaching Program] for years,” linking to a video displaying the slide posted June 9, 2023.
“According to an anonymous source in Fort Liberty’s Provost Marshall, the slide was made in the mid 2000’s by DES and briefed for the ACP mission (same thing it was briefed for yesterday),” said Mr. Shoemate on X. “This explains why the National Right to Life logo is old and was called out in NRL’s official response.”
The National Right to Life, which has long eschewed violence, said Thursday that its “retired logo was used on the slide as an example.” The organization updated its logo March 1.
Fort Liberty said that the “slides were developed by a local garrison employee to train Soldiers manning access control points at Fort Liberty.”
The lawmakers called on the Army to undertake “an installation-by-installation review to ensure that these or similar materials are not being disseminated elsewhere and that Army anti-terrorism training aligns with DoD anti-terrorism standard guidance and training.”
Mr. Budd said Thursday that his office had contacted the Army and Fort Liberty, and that they had begun an investigation.
At least 90 pro-life offices and pregnancy centers have been attacked since the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade, including incidents of arson, vandalism and pro-choice graffiti, according to the CatholicVote tracker.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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