Department of Homeland Security Labels Pro-Life Supporters ‘Extremists’

TODAY: ACLJ Launching Nationwide Campaign to Demand Removal of ‘Outrageous’ Reference from Warning

WASHINGTON, April 15, 2009—"This characterization is not only offensive to millions of Americans who hold constitutionally-protected views opposing abortion, but also raises serious concerns about the political agenda of an agency with a mandate to protect America."  - Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ

America's millions of pro-life supporters are not the enemy.  So says the nation's leading conservative public interest law firm, the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), to the nation's top governmental agency charged with securing America's safety.

Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), said today that a new warning issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that labels pro-life supporters as ‘extremists' is outrageous and raises serious questions about the leadership and direction of an agency with a stated goal to protect Americans against a very real terrorist threat. 
 

"Why would the Department of Homeland Security single out groups like pro-life supporters when they should be focusing on identifying and apprehending the real terrorists - like al-Qaeda - groups that have vowed to destroy America," said Sekulow.  
 

Issued on April 7, the DHS warning entitled "Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment" included reference to specific groups such as those who oppose abortion:  

 

"Rightwing extremism in the United States can be broadly divided into those groups, movements, and adherents that are primarily hate-oriented (based on hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups), and those that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely. It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration."  Read the full DHS assessment here.

The ACLJ is preparing a legal analysis and will be launching a nationwide campaign in the days ahead to demand that the DHS remove the reference from its warning.

Led by Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, the American Center for Law and Justice focuses on constitutional law and is based in Washington, D.C.  The ACLJ is online at www.aclj.org.  The ACLJ's online newsroom - with high-res, downloadable graphics, principal bios, ACLJ fact sheets, etc. - can be accessed at DeMossNews.com/aclj

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