During the closing vigil of the 40 Days for Life Fall Campaign in St. Paul, pro-lifers were allegedly “assaulted and harassed” by pro-abortion individuals, according to Pro-Life Action Ministries’ Brian Gibson. This is not the first time such harassment has occurred, though police had assured pro-lifers that they would control the pro-abortion protestors.
The pro-abortion group reportedly used bullhorns at close range to the pro-lifers to attempt to silence them, and at least one pushed her way through the pro-lifers during the closing vigil allegedly simply to try to aggravate them.
Eight police officers had originally been present, but half of them left, according to the pro-life group. When pro-lifers asked for assistance from the officers, who were sitting in their squad cars in a lot across the street, the officers told the pro-abortion protestors to stay away from the pro-lifers. When they failed to do so, the police allegedly did nothing.
Towards the end of the vigil, more abortion advocates arrived in about 10 cars with pro-abortion signs, blaring their horns and holding up traffic. Some left their cars in the street to confront pro-lifers. Eventually, the police reportedly told them to move. No one was arrested.
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On September 27, at the opening vigil of the 40 Days for Life, pro-abortion protestors had been so disruptive with a stream of “blasphemies and taunts” that pro-lifers could not hear the guest speaker, Dr. Haywood Robinson — a former abortionist turned pro-life advocate. A Pro-Life Action Ministries employee contacted the St. Paul police, but officers reportedly did not get out of their squad cars when they arrived at the scene.
Gibson said he had a conference call with the police department, who assured him that if the pro-abortion protestors showed up at the closing vigil, that same behavior would not be tolerated. Yet, instead, the police are said to have turned a ‘blind eye’ to the harassment at the closing vigil as well.
“We made decisions regarding how we were going to conduct this prayer event based on what we were told by St. Paul Police officials,” said Gibson. “Our participants need not be subjected to screaming people with bullhorns at high volume within a few feet of us. That is not free speech. It is harassment and physical assault meant to shut down our free speech. We are looking into legal remedies.”
