Police suspect arson in hearth at Wyoming abortion clinic site

Police imagine an overnight fireplace in Wyoming that damaged a constructing being renovated to house a brand new abortion clinic was intentionally set

By

MEAD GRUVER Associated Press

May 25, 2022, 3:57 PM ET

• 2 min read

CASPER, Wyo. -- An abortion clinic set to open next month in conservative Wyoming was damaged in a hearth early Wednesday that police imagine was intentionally set — presumably by someone seen operating away from the constructing carrying what seemed to be a gasoline can and a bag.

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

The clinic, which also deliberate to supply different health care companies for women, had been set to open in June as solely the second place in the state to offer abortions. Wyoming’s current lone location for ladies to get abortions is at a hospital in Jackson, 281 miles (452 kilometers) away.

A person who known as authorities before daybreak saw someone running from the building with what gave the impression to be a gas can and a black bag, police stated in a Facebook publish. Investigators have been reviewing video footage from the area in hopes of identifying the suspect or producing a suspect description, police said. No injuries were reported.

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

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

Protests have been held this spring by abortion opponents at the future clinic web site, and indicators opposing abortion had been visible Wednesday in a window of an residence subsequent door to the building.

Wyoming is one of 13 U.S. states with a so-called trigger legislation that would instantly outlaw abortion if the Roe v. Wade determination that legalized it nationwide is overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court docket. A leaked draft of a ruling suggests that will occur quickly.

Police temporarily closed off the road the place the small constructing is located as officers investigated. Several of the building's home windows were broken, and smoke harm was seen round one shattered window.