U.S. Army personnel at Ft. Liberty in North Carolina were given a training seminar in which certain prominent anti-abortion groups were labeled as “terrorist groups,” according to information leaked from within the base.
Images circulating on social media and confirmed by Ft. Liberty Garrison Public Affairs Office for the Washington Examiner showed a presentation to soldiers manning access control points at the base that characterized National Right to Life Committee and Operation Rescue as terrorist groups.
The presentation slide, photographed by an anonymous person in the briefing room on Wednesday and published on social media by a pseudonymous account, highlights common tactics used by anti-abortion activists as potentially dangerous, including “demonstrations and protest,” “truth display,” “picketing,” and sidewalk counseling.
It’s not clear who gave the presentation. The presentation slide included the insignias of the Directorate of Emergency Services at Ft. Liberty and the XVII Airborne Corps.
The leaked image of the presentation slide also included a picture of a “Choose Life” license plate, which are sold in 34 states, according to the pro-abortion group the Guttmacher Institute.
A spokesperson from Ft. Liberty Garrison Public Affairs office told the Washington Examiner that the slides “were not vetted by the appropriate approval authorities, and do not reflect the views of the XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Liberty, the U.S. Army or the Department of Defense.”
“The slides were developed by a local garrison employee to train Soldiers manning access control points at Fort Liberty,” said the spokesperson. “These slides will no longer be used, and all future training products will be reviewed to ensure they align with the current DoD anti-terrorism guidance.”
Founded in 1968, the National Right to Life Committee is a 501c(4) lobbying organization whose mission is primarily legislative and political. Operation Rescue, established in 1986, is more well known for grassroots activism and protests outside of abortion clinics, as well as exposing the work and identifying information of abortion providers.
Both groups were associated in the presentation with “bombings of clinics” and “attempted murders,” according to the presentation slide.
Neither NRLC nor Operation Rescue responded to the Washington Examiner at the time of publication.
The insider report follows efforts from top brass in the Department of Defense to root out right-wing extremism from within the ranks, drawing criticism from conservatives.
Ft. Liberty is one of the largest military installations in the world, with approximately 53,700 troops and 14,000 civilians working on the post. It contains nearly 10% of all US Army forces.