Army of God (terrorist organization)
![]() Army of God spokesman Donald Spitz holds Army of God banner. | |
Abbreviation | A.O.G. |
---|---|
Type | terrorist organization (anti-abortion violence) |
Army of God (AOG) is an American
Actions
The earliest documented incidence of the Army of God being involved with anti-abortion activity occurred in 1982. Three men stating that they were the "Army Of God"[4]: 23 [5] kidnapped Hector Zevallos, a doctor who performed abortions, and his wife, Dr. Rosalee Jean, and held them hostage. The hostages were later released unharmed after eight days.[6][7] The "East Coast division" of the AOG claimed responsibility when three men, including Michael Bray, planted bombs at seven abortion clinics in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. in 1985.[8]
In 1993,
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.[18][19] Waagner is a known criminal who utilized a number of aliases to elude police throughout his criminal history. The mailing of the letters suspected to have been filled with anthrax was done after he escaped from Dewitt County Jail in Clinton, Illinois where he was being held prior to sentencing for previously committed crimes.[20]
The group is also associated with a number of other abortion clinic bombings, arsons and murders of abortion providers.[4]: 25–26, 38 Some of those responsible claimed association with the AOG; in other cases, while the killers expressed no affiliation with the group, the AOG has endorsed their acts and taken up their cause, stating that any action which prevents abortion is justified.[21] 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".
According to the Global Terrorism Database, the group only ever managed to officially inflict one fatality, police officer Robert Sanderson, during their 1998 attack at an abortion clinic in Birmingham, Alabama.[22][23] However, individual members of the group were known and convicted killers. This includes Paul Hill who not only committed shootings of abortion providers himself but even went so far as to appear on ABC's Nightline to justify shootings carried out by other anti-abortionists.[24]
Army of God Manual
The Army of God Manual is an anonymous document which was written by anti-abortionist members of the AOG and it is widely endorsed by them. According to the AOG website, the manual "is not to be construed as sanctioning any group or individual to perform any action."[25]
The book, which consists of eight chapters and various appendices, delves into various pillars of their ideology and it is essentially a road map on how to commit violence against abortion clinics, abortion providers, and individuals who are associated with abortion. Parts of the book, specifically the appendices of chapters four, five and six, are not available for public consumption on the group's website due to federal laws. It is now in its third edition and the group refers to it as a historical document.[26]
The manual is available in its near entirety on the AOG's website which was formerly run by Donald Spitz. Spitz has no history of criminal activity, but he has historically used the website to publish short bios of high profile group members, publish anti-abortion propaganda, post photos of what are claimed to be bloody fetuses that were aborted and he uses the website as a means to justify the actions of the group and incite others to support the Army of God and agree with what it stands for.[27]
Documentary
The AOG movement, along with a select group of individuals who are associated with it, are featured in the HBO documentary film Soldiers in the Army of God (2000), directed by Marc Levin and Daphne Pinkerson, as part of HBO's America Undercover series.[28]
Associated individuals
- Michael Bray
- Paul Jennings Hill
- David Leach
- Scott Roeder
- Eric Robert Rudolph
- James Charles Kopp[29]
- Shelley Shannon
- Donald Spitz
- Clayton Waagner
- Fritz Springmeier[30]
A 2011
See also
- Anti-abortion violence in the United States
- Christianity and abortion
- Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act
- Jane's Revenge
- Leaderless resistance
- Missionaries to the Preborn
- Right-wing terrorism
- Domestic terrorism in the United States
- Unborn in the USA
References
- ISBN 979-8-216-11837-4.
kidnapped Hector Zevallos.
It was in Atlanta that Kopp got his nickname "Atomic Dog," which was later featured in the acknowledgments of a manual showing anti-abortionists how to build bombs, make explosives and cut off the thumbs of abortion doctors. The manual was circulated by a loose association of extremists who called themselves the Army of God.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Army of God
- History of the Army of God by the National Abortion Federation.
- 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