PORTLAND, Ore. (KGW) — Multiple regional FBI offices, including the one in Portland, have begun offering a $25,000 reward for information as part of a nationwide investigation into series of arson and vandalism incidents at reproductive health care centers last year.
Three of the 10 incidents were in Oregon. The other seven targeted facilities were in Colorado, California, Washington, Tennessee, North Carolina, New York and Wisconsin, according to a National FBI news release. The incidents all occurred between March and July 2022, with a majority in June.
The first Oregon incident was at the Oregon Right to Life building in Keizer, according to a news release from the Portland FBI office. On the night of May 8, police received reports of someone throwing multiple Molotov cocktails at the building.
The next was on June 10 at the Gresham Pregnancy Resource Center. Police responded to an alarm in the early morning hours and found a fire inside the building. Investigators believe it was ignited by Molotov cocktails thrown through a kitchen window. The flames were contained to one room, Gresham Fire told KGW at the time, and damage to the building was moderate but likely repairable.
The third incident was an arson and vandalism attack at the front entrance to the Mother and Child Education Center in Portland between July 4 and July 6, the FBI said. The phrases “IF ABORTION AINT SAFE NEITHER RU JR” and “JANES RVVGG” were spray painted on the building.
The graffiti was an apparent reference to the Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, stripping away federal constitutional protections for abortion. The decision was released on June 24, but a draft copy of the opinion was leaked publicly in early May.
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