The fire and vandalism took place in the office of Wisconsin Family Action, the CNN branch of WISC announced. The WFA is a political action committee that lobbies against abortion rights and same-sex marriage, according to its website.
Emergency dispatchers received a call from a passerby who saw a fire coming from an office building on Sunday morning, Madison police communications supervisor Keith Johnson told CNN. Firefighters at Madison Fire Department were called to the building around 6 a.m. and were able to put out the blaze quickly, officials said. No casualties were reported.
Fire investigators believe the fire was intentionally arson and are investigating the incident as arson, the fire department said. The Molotov cocktail, which did not ignite, was thrown into the building, Madison police said in a report on the incident. A separate fire appears to have been started, police said, and graffiti was found at the scene. A WISC image shows graffiti on the office wall: “If abortion is not safe, so are you. “In a statement, Madison Police Chief Sean Barnes said the WFA appears to have been targeted for its beliefs. He said federal agencies had been notified of the incident and were working with police and the Madison Fire Department in the investigation.
“Our department supports and continues to support people to be able to speak freely and openly about their beliefs. But we believe that all acts of violence, including the destruction of property, do not help any cause, “Barnes said. “We have notified our federal partners of this incident and are working with them and the Madison Fire Department as we investigate the arson.
The WFA president responds to vandalism
WFA President Julian Alling told CNN she was at a brunch for Mother’s Day at her church around 7:45 a.m. Sunday when she was called by office building officials who said the WFA office had been broken into.
Aplin said she was told several of what she described as Molotov cocktails were thrown through several windows into the space, which caused a small fire.
Spray-painted graffiti was found on the outside of the building where the WFA rents space, she said.
“The irony of what happens on Mother’s Day is very touching,” Aling said.
The WFA has not received an indication of a specific threat that led to the incident on Sunday morning, she said.
“I pray this doesn’t happen to anyone else, it has to stop right now,” Aling said.
A draft opinion of the Supreme Court expired last week
The alleged arson comes days after Politico published a draft opinion of the majority of the Supreme Court, written by Judge Samuel Alito, which will overturn Rowe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that the constitution protects a woman’s right to abortion.
The opinion will be the most important solution to abortion for decades and will transform the landscape of women’s reproductive health in America. The final opinion in the case – Dobbs v. Jackson, which concerns challenging Mississippi’s 15-week ban on abortion – is not expected to be published until late June.
Law enforcement officials in Washington, D.C., are preparing for potential security risks posed by leaked reactions.
Late Wednesday night, security teams began erecting an 8-foot fence that cannot be scaled around parts of the Supreme Court building, and on Thursday night, teams erected concrete barriers blocking the street in front of the court.
Wisconsin is one of a number of states with an abortion restriction imposed before Roe’s decision, which was never lifted. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat, said earlier this week that the state Department of Justice would not enforce the law if the Supreme Court overturned Rowe, according to WNOW, a subsidiary of CNN.
CNN’s Natalie Andes contributed to this report.
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