Wichita, June 20: Three Wichita-based anti-abortion groups say they have received death threats in response to last month’s killing of abortion provider George Tiller.
For years, Operation Rescue has received threats, but the number increased dramatically after Tiller’s killing, the group’s president, Troy Newman, said Thursday.
Some of the threats have been aimed at anti-abortion activities planned in Wichita this weekend, Newman said.
Soon after Tiller’s shooting, police contacted four to five local anti-abortion groups, asking them to contact authorities if they received threats, said Wichita police Capt. Brent Allred.
Allred said police would investigate threats on either side of the controversial abortion issue.
“That’s our job … to take a fair and impartial role on this,” he said.
For this weekend’s events, off-duty officers have been hired to help provide security, Newman said. It wasn’t clear Thursday whether on-duty officers will be deployed. The activities will include a prayer vigil near Tiller’s clinic, which is now closed.
One e-mail referring to this weekend’s activities said there would be “vengeance,” Newman said.
Other messages that Newman said he has received since the shooting include: A man saying, “You’re dead, punk,” and a woman threatening Newman and his family.
Newman said he has reported some of the threats to police and that he is taking security measures.
“You’re aware of your surroundings, no matter where you are,” he said.
Around the nation, anti-abortion leaders have been taking precautions before and after the shooting, said the Rev. Patrick Mahoney, director of the Washington, D.C.-based Christian Defense Coalition.
“I don’t want to go into detail, but I know for a fact that numerous pro-life leaders travel with bulletproof vests,” Mahoney said.
Wichita is now at the “epicenter” of the fallout over Tiller’s death, he said. A gunman shot Tiller as he was serving as an usher May 31 at his church.
“Emotions are running very high in Wichita,” said Mahoney, who said he plans to be at the anti-abortion activities here this weekend.
Within hours of the May 31 shooting, Newman said, Allred called to say that authorities were concerned that someone could seek retaliation for Tiller’s death by attacking anti-abortion leaders.
–Agencies