Church's pro-life sign vandalized in Maine with 'queer love' and pro-abortion messages



A pro-life sign at a church in Maine was vandalized, and members want the incident to be investigated as a hate crime against Christians.

The vandalism was discovered at the Second Baptist Church in the town of Palermo in Maine on Saturday evening.

The paint was tossed on a sign reading, "Every Life Matters," and "Abortion is Still Murder."

The vandals also wrote in paint two messages: "Abortion is our human right," and "Queer love 4 eva."

State Representative Katrina Smith, who is also a member of the church, called the vandalism an attack on the church.

“This is an escalation of violence against the church,” she told WCSH-TV. "For someone to come out and vandalize their house of worship, it really is intimidation, asking them not to continue to worship in the way that they are."

The church has been vandalized previously in 2019 and also a week prior to the latest incident.

Smith said that she believes the incident would be considered a hate crime under Maine law.

“Well, to me, it’s a hate crime. This is a group of young children, families, just local people, and they have done nothing to speak out against any of the issues right now,” she added.

WCSH cited a Portland trial attorney who argued that the vandalism didn't necessarily interfere with the expression of religion by the congregants of the church.

Palermo Select Board Member Bob Kurek said the vandalism was not an appropriate way to express political disagreement.

“Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. And even if that opinion is a strong opinion, it does not give people who disagree with that opinion the right to vandalize property or destroy property.”

Here's a local news report about the vandalism:

Vandalism of Waldo County church stirs conversation over hate crimes www.youtube.com

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Another pro-life pregnancy center was vandalized with threatening pro-abortion messages



A pro-life crisis pregnancy center in Asheville, North Carolina was vandalized with spray-paint and threatening graffiti Tuesday, police said in news release.

Authorities are looking for the person(s) responsible for writing the words, "If abortions aren't safe, neither are you!" in front of Mountain Area Pregnancy Services in West Asheville. Police were called to the scene around 7:20 a.m. Tuesday to investigate the vandalism, according to the release.

Police said that someone had spray-painted the pregnancy center with red graffiti, writing threatening messages and an anarchist symbol in front of the building. More graffiti read, "No forced birth" on the side of the pregnancy center, and police said the building's windows were broken sometime overnight Monday.

Investigators found blood samples near a broken window at the scene of the crime and believe one of the vandals may have injured themselves, leaving behind a bloody trail.

Kristi Brown, the executive director of the pregnancy center, told the Asheville Citizen Times she was saddened by the crime.

"We're heartbroken over this. The emotions that our team is experiencing (are) all over the board, right? ... One moment you're sad, you're angry, you're frustrated. Then you're glad no one was harmed," she said.

No one was inside the building when the vandalism occurred and the center is still providing services for women, according to Brown.

Mountain Area Preg­nancy Ser­vices is a pro-life organization that "provides compassionate care to women and men dealing with issues surrounding an at risk pregnancy," according to its website. The group offers pregnancy care and education for women, and provides resources for expecting mothers with unplanned or unwanted pregnancies as an alternative to an abortion.

"We don't refer for and we don't perform abortions, but we will engage them in conversations about what will happen if they make that choice," Brown said.

There has been a distressing uptick in violence against pro-life pregnancy centers in recent weeks since a leaked draft Supreme Court opinion in May indicated the court has voted to overturn its landmark Roe v. Wade decision concerning abortion rights. A pro-life pregnancy center in Buffalo, New York was allegedly firebombed by pro-abortion terrorists Tuesday and another pro-life organization in Madison, Wisconsin was attacked with a Molotov cocktail last month. An anarchist group took credit for the attack in Wisconsin and is alleged to be the same group behind the attack in Buffalo.

In related news, police said an armed man who allegedly made threats to kill Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was arrested outside of the justice's private home in Maryland early Wednesday morning.

Federal law enforcement warned in May that there could be a surge in political violence surrounding the Supreme Court's abortion decision, warning that threats against Supreme Court justices, lawmakers, churches, and pro-life and abortion clinics "are likely to persist and may increase leading up to and following the issuing of the Court's official ruling."