Army of God
Encyclopedia
Army of God is a Christian terrorist anti-abortion organization that sanctions the use of force to combat abortion in the United States
. HBO produced a documentary on the Army Of God entitled Soldiers In The Army Of God.
, planted bombs at seven abortion clinics in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington D.C. in 1985.
The AOG claimed responsibility for Eric Robert Rudolph
's 1997 nail bomb
ing of abortion clinics in Atlanta and Birmingham
as well as an Atlanta lesbian bar.
Clayton Waagner
, claiming to act on the part of the "Virginia Dare Chapter" of the AOG, mailed over 500 letters containing white powder to 280 abortion providers in 2001. The letters claimed that the powder was anthrax
; though it was not identified as such, the tactic took advantage of the public's fear of biological warfare after the recent real anthrax attacks
.
The group is also associated with a number of assassinations of abortion providers. Some of these assassins, such as Shelley Shannon, claimed association with the AOG; in other cases, while the assassin expressed no affiliation with the group, the AOG has lionized their acts and taken up their cause.
Hill was head of a precursor organization called Defensive Action, which issued signed statements to members of Congress in the early 1990s expressing similar sentiments about "killing the killers". In 2000, The Army of God has promoted an annual White Rose Banquet in Washington D.C. from 1991 through at least 2003, for supporters of the Defensive Action Statement.
A 2011 NPR
report claimed an associate of this group, Stephen John Jordi, was imprisoned in a highly restrictive Communication Management Unit
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. HBO produced a documentary on the Army Of God entitled Soldiers In The Army Of God.
Actions
The earliest documented incidence of the Army of God being involved with anti-abortion activity occurred in 1982. Three men associated with the organization held Hector Zevallos, an abortion doctor, and his wife, Rosalee Jean, hostage. The hostages were later released unharmed. The "East Coast division" of the AOG claimed responsibility when three men, including Michael BrayMichael Bray
Michael Bray is an American anti-abortion activist convicted in 1985 of two counts of conspiracy and one count of possessing unregistered explosive devices in relation to 10 bombings of women's health clinics and offices of liberal advocacy groups in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia...
, planted bombs at seven abortion clinics in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington D.C. in 1985.
The AOG claimed responsibility for Eric Robert Rudolph
Eric Robert Rudolph
Eric Robert Rudolph , also known as the Olympic Park Bomber, is a criminal responsible for a series of bombings across the southern United States between 1996 and 1998, which killed two people and injured at least 150 others in the name of an anti-abortion and anti-gay agenda...
's 1997 nail bomb
Nail bomb
The nail bomb is an anti-personnel explosive device packed with nails to increase its wounding ability. The nails act as shrapnel, leading almost certainly to greater loss of life and injury in inhabited areas than the explosives alone would. The nail bomb is also a type of flechette weapon...
ing of abortion clinics in Atlanta and Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
as well as an Atlanta lesbian bar.
Clayton Waagner
Clayton Waagner
Clayton Lee Waagner is a convicted bank robber and anti-abortion activist. He was born Roger Waagner in North Dakota. He was an escaped fugitive during the spring, summer and fall of 2001 and was the FBI's 467th fugitive to be placed on the Ten Most Wanted list for carjackings, firearms...
, claiming to act on the part of the "Virginia Dare Chapter" of the AOG, mailed over 500 letters containing white powder to 280 abortion providers in 2001. The letters claimed that the powder was anthrax
Anthrax
Anthrax is an acute disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Most forms of the disease are lethal, and it affects both humans and other animals...
; though it was not identified as such, the tactic took advantage of the public's fear of biological warfare after the recent real anthrax attacks
2001 anthrax attacks
The 2001 anthrax attacks in the United States, also known as Amerithrax from its Federal Bureau of Investigation case name, occurred over the course of several weeks beginning on Tuesday, September 18, 2001, one week after the September 11 attacks. Letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to...
.
The group is also associated with a number of assassinations of abortion providers. Some of these assassins, such as Shelley Shannon, claimed association with the AOG; in other cases, while the assassin expressed no affiliation with the group, the AOG has lionized their acts and taken up their cause.
Defensive Action Statement
AOG supports the Second Defensive Action Statement, as produced by the Defenders of the Defenders of Life, which reads:- We the undersigned, declare the justice of taking all Godly action necessary, including the use of force, to defend innocent human life (born and unborn). We proclaim that whatever force is legitimate to defend the life of a born child is legitimate to defend the life of an unborn child.
- We declare and affirm that if in fact Paul HillPaul Jennings HillPaul Jennings Hill was the first person in the United States to be executed for murdering a doctor who performed abortions.-Early life:...
did kill or wound abortionist John BrittonJohn Britton (doctor)John Bayard Britton was an American physician. He was murdered in Pensacola, Florida by anti-abortion terrorist Paul Jennings Hill...
, and accomplices James Barrett and Mrs. Barrett, his actions are morally justified if they were necessary for the purpose of defending innocent human life. Under these conditions, Paul Hill should be acquitted of all charges against him.
Hill was head of a precursor organization called Defensive Action, which issued signed statements to members of Congress in the early 1990s expressing similar sentiments about "killing the killers". In 2000, The Army of God has promoted an annual White Rose Banquet in Washington D.C. from 1991 through at least 2003, for supporters of the Defensive Action Statement.
Associated individuals
- Michael BrayMichael BrayMichael Bray is an American anti-abortion activist convicted in 1985 of two counts of conspiracy and one count of possessing unregistered explosive devices in relation to 10 bombings of women's health clinics and offices of liberal advocacy groups in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia...
- Paul Jennings HillPaul Jennings HillPaul Jennings Hill was the first person in the United States to be executed for murdering a doctor who performed abortions.-Early life:...
- David Leach
- Scott Roeder
- Eric Robert RudolphEric Robert RudolphEric Robert Rudolph , also known as the Olympic Park Bomber, is a criminal responsible for a series of bombings across the southern United States between 1996 and 1998, which killed two people and injured at least 150 others in the name of an anti-abortion and anti-gay agenda...
- James Charles KoppJames Charles KoppJames Charles Kopp is an American citizen who was convicted in 2003 for the 1998 sniper-style murder of Dr. Barnett Slepian, an American physician from Amherst, New York who performed abortions. Prior to his capture, Kopp was on the FBI's list of Ten Most Wanted Fugitives. On June 7, 1999 he had...
- Shelley Shannon
- Donald SpitzDonald SpitzDonald Spitz is a controversial Christian anti-abortion activist in the United States. He lives in Chesapeake, Virginia, and runs the website for the anti-abortion group Army of God.-Beginnings:Donald Spitz was born in Norfolk, Virginia...
- Clayton WaagnerClayton WaagnerClayton Lee Waagner is a convicted bank robber and anti-abortion activist. He was born Roger Waagner in North Dakota. He was an escaped fugitive during the spring, summer and fall of 2001 and was the FBI's 467th fugitive to be placed on the Ten Most Wanted list for carjackings, firearms...
- Fritz SpringmeierFritz SpringmeierFritz Artz Springmeier is an American conspiracy theorist and religious right wing author, formerly a resident of Corbett, Oregon, who has written a number of books claiming that satanic forces are behind a move toward world domination by various families and organizations...
A 2011 NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
report claimed an associate of this group, Stephen John Jordi, was imprisoned in a highly restrictive Communication Management Unit
Communication Management Unit
Communication Management Unit is a recent designation for a self-contained group within a facility in the United States Federal Bureau of Prisons that severely restricts, manages and monitors all outside communication of inmates in the unit.-Origins:As part of the Bush Administration's War on...
.
See also
- Abortion in the United StatesAbortion in the United StatesAbortion in the United States has been legal in every state since the United States Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, on January 22, 1973...
- Anti-abortion violence in the United States
- Anti-abortion violence
- Clandestine cell systemClandestine cell systemA clandestine cell structure is a method for organizing a group of people in such a way that it can more effectively resist penetration by an opposing organization. Depending on the group's philosophy, its operational area, the communications technologies available, and the nature of the mission,...
- Domestic terrorism in the United StatesDomestic terrorism in the United StatesDomestic terrorism in the United States between 1980 and 2000 consisted of 250 of the 335 incidents confirmed as or suspected to be terrorist acts by the FBI. These 250 attacks are considered domestic by the FBI because they were carried out by U.S...
- Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances ActFreedom of Access to Clinic Entrances ActThe Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act is a United States law that was signed by President Bill Clinton in May of 1994, which prohibits the following three things: the use of physical force, threat of physical force, or physical obstruction to intentionally injure, intimidate, interfere...
- Leaderless resistanceLeaderless resistanceLeaderless resistance, or phantom cell structure, is a political resistance strategy in which small, independent groups , including individuals , challenge an established adversary such as a government. Leaderless resistance can encompass anything from non-violent disruption and civil disobedience...
- Lone wolf (terrorism)
- Nuremberg Files
External links
- Army of God
- History of the Army of God by the National Abortion FederationNational Abortion FederationThe National Abortion Federation is an organization of abortion providers. Though originally a U.S. group, NAF has expanded to include practitioners in Canada and Australia as well as many European countries and Mexico...
. - HBO documentary: "Army of God: Skewing the Truth in all Sincerity: A Case Study," by David Leach (hosted on his Prayer & Action News website)
- Attacks attributed to the Army of God on the START terrorism database