![]() ![]() The accelerationist Telegram channel urges essentially the same kind of violence against pro-choice activists as it does against non-white people posters argue that an anti-choice individual who is unwilling to make the sacrifices that past anti-choice extremist “saints” have made - attacking and murdering others for the anti-choice cause - has contributed nothing to the cause. ” “LARP” is a reference to “Live Action Role Play.” ![]() The poster wrote, “If you’re ‘pro-life’ but aren’t prepared to follow in their footsteps.then you’re a LARPfag and you’re wasting your time. Names include Robert Lewis Dear, who killed three people and wounded nine others at a Planned Parenthood in Colorado in 2015. In a post to an accelerationist Telegram channel lists the names of individuals the admin has dubbed “saints” - individuals who have committed acts of violence against perceived pro-choice actors and institutions. The most ardent calls for violence on Telegram in response to pro-choice activism come from neo-Nazi accelerationist groups, whose members believe in hastening what they see as the inevitable collapse of society that they believe will culminate in a “race war.” Most white supremacists encourage abortion for non-white women, but believe it should be eliminated as a choice for white women, a stance they reiterated after Alabama passed a restrictive abortion ban in May 2019. While Center on Extremism researchers have not found specific threats against pro-choice events or activists, the tenor of response from right-wing extremists strongly suggests a willingness to engage in violence in support of the anti-choice agenda. Wade, and some posts moved beyond celebration to advocate for violence against pro-choice activists. Wade was leaked, right-wing extremists flooded the encrypted social media messaging platform Telegram with memes and posts largely praising the leaked decision to overturn Roe v. When the draft decision to overturn Roe v. Today, violent anti-choice rhetoric is more accessible than ever before. The most recent major case of anti-choice violence took place in Knoxville, Tennessee, when a December 2021 arson attack destroyed a Planned Parenthood clinic. Publicly accessible Telegram channels suggest to their followers that violence against pro-choice activists and institutions is not only acceptable, but necessary, and Telegram leaves it to the platform’s subscribers to decide for themselves whether they agree - or are motivated to further action.Īfter the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood shooting in 2015, Center on Extremism researchers highlighted the role that the demonization of abortion providers played in the “justification” of violent acts, even when such rhetoric did not directly call for violence. What has changed is the public’s easy access to violent online rhetoric around these issues. since the 1980s, and escalated in the early 1990s. Violent anti-choice extremism has been an issue in the U.S. This is a strategy recognized by experts, including those at the Dangerous Speech Project, as having the potential to lead to “ increased support for violence against another group.” A common thread among extremist anti-choice rhetoric: dehumanizing women who believe in the right to abortion. Crucially, it also makes clear that online platforms must take these threats of violence seriously.Īs far as these extremists are concerned, the personhood and worthiness of women is only secure when they are fulfilling “appropriate” roles. The deadly, May 14, 2022, white supremacist massacre at a Buffalo supermarket powerfully underscores the potential for this online violent rhetoric to become action and may be an indicator of how far some extremists are willing to go to advance their cause. These threats of violence are largely happening in online spaces, where rhetoric and incitement gain oxygen in a dangerous echo chamber. ![]() ![]() And as pro-choice advocates are vowing to protest the potential loss of reproductive freedom, right-wing extremists advocating for - and in some cases threatening - violence against them. Wade ruling has animated people on both sides of the abortion debate. The May 2, 2022, leak of the draft opinion overturning the 1973 Roe v. ![]()
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