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Wisconsin Family Action offers reward for information about office arson

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Posted at 4:12 PM, Jun 01, 2022
and last updated 2022-06-02 10:01:49-04

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Family Action, Inc. is now offering a reward to anyone with information leading to an arrest in connection to the vandalism at the Madison Wisconsin Family Action office in Madison, Wis.

A fire broke out at the facility on Sunday, May 8. Following the fire,officials found a Molotov cocktailand said a spray-painted message was inside the headquarters.

It wasn’t immediately clear who vandalized the building, but the message “If abortions aren’t safe then you aren’t either” was spray-painted on the building.

Madison police said the fire is being investigated as an arson. It's now almost a month later and no arrests have been made.

That's why Wisconsin Family Action is offering an award of up to $1,500 to anyone who has information that leads to an arrest in the case.

According to Bellingcat, a Netherlands-based news site, an organization called "Jane's Revenge" sent a statement claiming responsibility for the attack.

The statement reads, "This was only a warning. We demand the disbanding of all anti-choice establishments, fake clinics, and violent anti-choice groups within the next 30 days.

According to the Wisconsin State Journal, Madison Police spokesperson Stephanie Fryer said the department, “is aware of a group claiming responsibility for the arson at Wisconsin Family Action and are working with our federal partners to determine the veracity of that claim.”

However, the police did not confirm whether or not that group was Jane's Revenge.

The State Journal said the statement also says the attack could be the first of many.

"After 3 weeks and despite the admission of Jane’s Revenge, there have been no arrests made or any indication of progress identifying a person(s) of interest," Wisconsin Family Action wrote in a press release.

“It’s perplexing that Jane’s Revenge has not only taken credit for the firebombing of our headquarters but they have also threatened our personal safety and promised to continue this extreme violence to other pro-life organizations across the nation, and three weeks later not even a single person of interest has been named,” said Julaine Appling, President of Wisconsin Family Action, in the statement.

Senator Ron Johnson has also gotten involved in the incident, sending a letter to US Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

In the letter, Johnson criticized the "lack of action" on what he called "domestic terrorism."

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