Police suspect arson in fireplace at Wyoming abortion clinic site

Police imagine an in a single day fireplace in Wyoming that damaged a constructing being renovated to deal with a new abortion clinic was intentionally set

By

MEAD GRUVER Related Press

May 25, 2022, 3:57 PM ET

• 2 min read

CASPER, Wyo. -- An abortion clinic set to open subsequent month in conservative Wyoming was damaged in a fireplace early Wednesday that police consider was deliberately set — presumably by somebody seen running away from the building carrying what seemed to be a gasoline can and a bag.

The blaze broken the within of the building below renovation to accommodate the clinic in Casper, the second-biggest metropolis in a state where opposition to abortion is widespread.

The clinic, which also deliberate to provide other health care providers for girls, had been set to open in June as only the second place within the state to supply abortions. Wyoming’s present lone location for girls to get abortions is at a hospital in Jackson, 281 miles (452 kilometers) away.

An individual who known as authorities before dawn noticed someone working from the building with what appeared to be a gasoline can and a black bag, police mentioned in a Fb publish. Investigators have been reviewing video footage from the area in hopes of identifying the suspect or producing a suspect description, police said. No accidents were reported.

Julie Burkhart, the clinic’s director, stated clinic organizers had been receiving harassing emails and phone messages. The constructing had video cameras that were functioning, and police were given entry to them, she stated.

“Whether you’re against abortion or assist abortion rights, you’re not going to make abortion go away,” said Burkhart, a former associate of Dr. George Tiller, an abortion provider who was shot and killed in a Wichita, Kansas, church in 2009.

Protests have been held this spring by abortion opponents on the future clinic website, and indicators opposing abortion had been seen Wednesday in a window of an apartment subsequent door to the building.

Wyoming is one of 13 U.S. states with a so-called trigger regulation that will immediately outlaw abortion if the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized it nationwide is overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court docket. A leaked draft of a ruling suggests that can occur soon.

Police briefly closed off the street where the small building is positioned as officers investigated. A number of of the constructing's windows had been damaged, and smoke harm was visible around one shattered window.