Wisconsin police investigating fire at Wisconsin anti-abortion office as arson

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin police are investigating possible arson after a fire broke out early Sunday in the offices of a prominent anti-abortion group and a threat was spray-painted on the group's building. 

Wisconsin Family Action President Julaine Appling said police notified her at about 7:45 a.m. while she was at church in Watertown, Wisconsin, about 48 miles west of Milwaukee. Police received reports of flames in Appling's office around 6 a.m.

"A molotov cocktail, which did not ignite, was thrown inside the building. It also appears a separate fire was started in response," investigators wrote Sunday in a report on the incident. 

Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes in a statement said the department is investigating the fire as arson. 

Wisconsin Family Action has for years pushed Wisconsin and federal lawmakers to outlaw abortions. The incident took place a week after a leaked draft of U.S. Supreme Court decision suggested the court is considering a decision that would overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that established a constitutional right to abortion. 

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If that happens, an 1849 law banning most abortions would go into effect in Wisconsin.

According to Guttmacher Institute, 22 states, including Wisconsin, have bans or could ban abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned with "trigger laws."

"If abortions aren't safe then you aren't either" was scrawled in black paint across the outside wall of Wisconsin Family Action's offices in Madison — a threat that was found by police while responding to a call early Sunday reporting flames inside the building on the capital city's north side. 

"To be honest with you, I knew immediately what had happened,"  Appling said, referring to her initial conversation with police officers. 

"You know, you can disagree with me. And I don't mind being disagreed with. But to threaten the safety of my team because we have a different opinion on an issue — an important issue, I'll grant you that. That doesn't give you credence to threaten my life, and then turn around and damage property," Appling said.

"If somebody had been in that office, I don't think anybody would have been killed, but you would have been hurt just from the flying glass."

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers in a statement condemned the violence against the group. 

"We reject violence against any person for disagreeing with another’s view. Violence is not the way forward. Hurting others is never the answer," Evers said in a statement. "We will work against overturning Roe and attacks on reproductive rights by leading with empathy and compassion."

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Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson tweeted, "This attack is abhorrent and should be condemned by all."

In a statement, Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said the city "believes strongly in the right to free speech, but it must be exercised nonviolently by all sides in this increasingly contentious debate." 

Barnes said local police investigators have notified federal authorities about the incident. 

"Our department has and continues to support people being able to speak freely and openly about their beliefs. But we feel that any acts of violence, including the destruction of property, do not aid in any cause," the police chief said.

Appling said she hasn't yet assessed the level of damage to the offices or whether the organization will move to a space with fewer windows. 

In 2016, a Planned Parenthood clinic in Appleton, Wisconsin, closed after it had been firebombed four years earlier and following a deadly attack at a clinic in Colorado. 

"I don't live in fear. And I'm not constantly looking over my shoulder. I've had death threats at my house and over other issues. This one, this one surprised me," Appling said.

Statistics collected by the National Abortion Federation show recent rises in clinic trespassing and obstruction, death threats, and mail and internet harassment. Recently, federal officials have warned clinics and local law enforcement of the potential for violence at clinics and at protests.

Follow Molly Beck on Twitter at @MollyBeck.