Fort Liberty anti-terrorism slide by @samosaur / X
CV NEWS FEED // Fort Liberty has walked back its claim that pro-life organizations are terrorist groups after facing significant backlash.
Fort Liberty made the claim during an anti-terrorism slideshow presentation used for training soldiers at the base. On July 10, watchdog journalist Sam Shoemate posted a photo of the slide on pro-life organizations on X, noting that it came right after a slide about ISIS.
The slide, titled “Terrorist Groups,” names pro-life organizations National Right to Life and Operation Rescue. According to the slide, actions that deemed the organizations as “terrorist groups” included opposing “Row v Wade [sic],” protesting, holding “mass demonstrations,” picketing, and more. The slide also claimed that National Right to Life was responsible for bombing abortion clinics.
After the photo of the slide circulated on social media, Fort Liberty stated in a Facebook post that it conducted a commander’s inquiry and “determined that the slides presented on social media were not vetted by the appropriate approval authorities.”
Fort Liberty also added that the slides “do not reflect the views of the XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Liberty, the U.S. Army or the Department of Defense.”
According to the statement, the slides were made by a local garrison employee “to train soldiers manning access control points at Fort Liberty.”
The fort also promised that the slides will no longer be used, and added that training products will be reviewed in the future “to ensure they align with the current DoD anti-terrorism guidance.”
According to Raleigh, North Carolina outlet WRAL News, Fort Liberty said in a phone interview that the presentations occur every 2-3 weeks with around 40 people in attendance. It is unclear how often the presentation on pro-life organizations has taken place.
Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life, called the presentation “deeply offensive to pro-life Americans across the nation.”
“Fort Liberty promoted outright lies about National Right to Life in a demonstration of lazy scholarship,” Tobias stated in a news release. “In our over 50-year history, National Right to Life has always, consistently, and unequivocally, condemned violence against anyone.”
Operation Rescue President Troy Newman called Fort Liberty “extremely irresponsible” for allowing the presentation to take place.
“It is utterly ridiculous that Operation Rescue and other groups that work to defend innocent babies would be put in the same category as groups like the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda that carried out the September 11 attacks,” Newman added in a news release.
The presentation also caught the attention of Republican politicians. According to The Federalist, 88 congressional Republicans sent a letter to Army Secretary Christine Wormuth on June 12 that demanded answers about the slide.
The letter was spearheaded by Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) and Congressman Richard Hudson (R-NC), who both released their own statements on X.
“Smearing pro-life Americans as terrorists is despicable. The materials briefed at Fort LIberty are disturbing… the Army must get to the bottom of this and see that it never happens again,” Budd posted.
Congressman Richard Hudson (R-NC) echoed Budd’s statement, posting that “Smearing pro-life groups” is “just another example of the Biden admin’s politicization of our military.”
“The DoD should be focused on protecting our homeland from actual terrorists — NOT Americans who value human life,” he added.
