Apparent Arson Levels Abortion Clinic Hit Many Times Before
The violent history of a Pensacola, Fla., abortion clinic may be repeating itself in a new terrorist act: Anti-choice zealots are suspected of setting a blaze Sunday that gutted the American Family Planning clinic, which was Ground Zero for murders and bombings by vigilantes in the 1980s and 1990s.
A sniffing dog helped investigators at the scene gather samples Tuesday to be tested for fire accelerants, Deborah Cox of the Florida State Fire Marshal’s office told Hatewatch. Investigators already have determined that the blaze started outside the building, she added. Calling the fire suspicious “would be an understatement,” Pensacola Police Chief Chip Simmons told the Pensacola News-Journal.
The FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are working on the case with the fire marshal, Cox said. Definitive findings on whether it was arson may take a couple of weeks, she reports. Nobody was injured in the New Year’s Day blaze.
The two-story clinic, formerly called The Ladies Center Clinic, has been at the epicenter of the violent anti-abortion movement for nearly 30 years now. Indeed, this isn’t the first time the clinic has been burnt to the ground. A pipe bomb in 1984 destroyed it. Rebuilding only brought more bombings—and three murders. In 1993, Dr. David Gunn, an abortion provider, was shot to death outside the clinic. And in 1994, Dr. John Britton, a clinic doctor, and his bodyguard, James Barrett, were gunned down at close range by Paul Hill, who was executed for the murders in 2003