Fort Liberty is facing significant backlash after a slideshow presentation used for training at the U.S. Army base labeled anti-abortion organizations as “terrorist organizations.” The controversy arose when a photo of one of the slides, circulating on social media, identified groups such as National Right to Life and Operation Rescue, as well as “opponents of Roe v. Wade,” the Supreme Court ruling that established a right to abortion before its 2022 reversal.
An anti-terrorism brief was held on Fort Liberty (Bragg) today where they listed several Pro-Life organizations as “terrorist organizations.”
The slide you see here followed right after a slide about ISIS, a terror group in the Middle East.
The organizations labeled by the… pic.twitter.com/vlO6XjyGzE
— Shoe (@samosaur) July 11, 2024
In response to the outcry, Fort Liberty issued a statement on Facebook. “After conducting a commander’s inquiry, we determined that the slides presented on social media 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 statement read. It also clarified that the slides were created by a local garrison employee to train soldiers manning access control points at Fort Liberty. The statement assured that the slides would no longer be used and that future training materials would be reviewed to ensure alignment with current DoD anti-terrorism guidance.
There it is. “Wasn’t vetted, wasn’t the army, we’ll fix this for the future.”
Except the attacks against the conservative right keep being promulgated within service academies, professional development, and random briefs like this.
These aren’t one off, or isolated, events.… https://t.co/RzMjiC48hk pic.twitter.com/ChC3SBVS7W
— Shoe (@samosaur) July 11, 2024
Anne Reed, from Operation Rescue, one of the groups listed in the slideshow, expressed deep concern. “The fact that this is being pushed out to the American public is very concerning to us,” she said. Reed noted that the slide seemed familiar, suggesting it was a reused version from a presentation about 15 years ago that had previously made news.
Responding to the egregious lies. @samosaur pic.twitter.com/eKLePEaakq
— National Right to Life (@nrlc) July 11, 2024
A Fort Liberty representative provided further details during a phone interview with WRAL News, revealing that such presentations typically occur every 2-3 weeks. They believe the controversial presentation took place recently, though the exact date is unknown. An investigation is underway to determine how many people attended, estimated to be around 40 at any given session. The base has also initiated a formal 15-6 investigation into the matter.
North Carolina Senator Ted Budd condemned the incident in a statement on X. “Smearing pro-life Americans as terrorists is despicable. The materials briefed at Fort Liberty are disturbing. As soon as I became aware of it, I directed my team to contact Army and Fort Liberty officials. They have begun an investigation. The Army must get to the bottom of this and see that it never happens again.”
The leaked image of the presentation slide included a picture of a “Choose Life” license plate, which is sold in 34 states according to the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion-rights group. Troy Newman, president of Operation Rescue, told the Washington Examiner that the slides seemed to be repurposed from a similar FBI presentation exposed by a Freedom of Information Act request. Newman expressed deep concern about the federal government’s focus on peaceful, patriotic individuals with differing views.
Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life, criticized the presentation. “In a presentation that is deeply offensive to pro-life Americans across the nation, Fort Liberty promoted outright lies about National Right to Life in a demonstration of lazy scholarship,” she said. Tobias emphasized that National Right to Life has consistently condemned violence throughout its 50-year history.
She also added, “Only under the Biden Administration can peaceful, law-abiding citizens and their peaceful activities be considered ‘terrorism.’ The Biden Administration promotes the deaths of preborn babies and advocates for unlimited abortion, but peaceful pro-life Americans are labeled ‘terrorists.’”
Sam Shoemate who broke the story on social media also reported that, “According to an anonymous source in Fort Liberty’s Provost Marshall, the slide was made in the mid 2000’s by DES and briefed for the ACP mission (same thing it was briefed for yesterday). This explains why the National Right to Life logo is old and was called out in NRL’s official response (see pic).The army has identified these organizations as terror groups for AT LEAST a year (likely longer according to the unsubstantiated source in the Provost Marshall), and it’s been used to train actual law enforcement according to the video.”
UPDATE: Despite Fort Liberty’s claims that the slide calling pro-life organizations terrorist groups was unapproved, it’s been a part of training for military police and ACP for years.
The video linked below uses the same slide posted here yesterday, yet the video was posted on… https://t.co/2pCrHqueec pic.twitter.com/AU8opeJPyu
— Shoe (@samosaur) July 11, 2024