ALBANY, New York – (ChurchMilitant.com) – Two members of a U.S. pro-life group known for its peaceful method of operation are delivering a powerful counterpunch to the radical Democrat attorney general of New York.
AFLC attorney Robert Muise
Red Rose Rescue pro-lifers are suing Letitia James in federal court for falsely labeling them “terrorists” and Red Rose Rescue a “terrorist group.”
On July 7, the American Freedom Law Center filed a $5 million suit on behalf of two RRR volunteers, cofounder Dr. Monica Miller and Suzanne Abdalla.
AFLC attorney Robert Muise thundered his moral and legal outrage at James’ damaging and defamatory statements, telling Church Militant on Friday:
The New York attorney general is weaponizing her office by publicly attacking Red Rose Rescue and those who associate with this pro-life group. She is using her power and authority as New York’s top law enforcement officer to unlawfully harm Red Rose Rescue and those who associate with this group by defaming them and falsely labeling them as criminal “terrorists.” This will have a chilling effect on the pro-lifers’ First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and association, and the New York attorney general knows it.
“She wants to marginalize Red Rose Rescue and those who associate with this group,” he added, “in order to silence them and to scare people away from joining and supporting them. Our Constitution does not permit such an abuse of power by government officials.”
Letitia James
Last month, on June 8, the far-left AG took aim at RRR by hitting it with a civil lawsuit that attempts to prevent any member of the pro-life group from being within 30 feet of any abortuary in her state.
During her press conference announcing the filing of this civil lawsuit, James defamed the pro-lifers by falsely claiming that they are criminal “terrorists” and that Red Rose Rescue is a “terrorists group.” There were no allegations in the civil lawsuit that the pro-lifers engaged in any criminal act of terrorism, which is a felony offense, because no such facts exist.
Now RRR members are hitting back against James’ attack, backing New York’s highest-ranking law enforcement officer into the defendant’s chair. The suit states:
Defendant James’ labeling of those who associate with Red Rose Rescue as “terrorists” is grotesque and absurd on its face; it is reckless in the extreme; it harms Plaintiffs’ public reputation; and it is an unconstitutional dereliction of Defendant James’ sworn duty to uphold the United States and New York Constitutions and to provide equal justice under the law to all persons and organizations regardless of their religious beliefs and views.
The case points out that the attorney general has violated the plaintiffs’ rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution and New York law. “Plaintiff Miller’s pro-life activities include praying, distributing literature, holding pro-life signs and counseling women on public sidewalks outside of abortion centers throughout the United States. These activities are fully protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments,” the lawsuit reads.
AFLC lawyers point to the wider ramifications of the case:
Defendant James’ acts as set forth in this Complaint create a tool of intimidation for state government officials. Defendant James’ identification of pro-lifers as “terrorists” provides a basis for government officials to abuse their positions of power by seeking to stifle certain religious beliefs and views. It also provides adversaries, such as Planned Parenthood and others pro-abortion extremists who were invited to participate in the press conference with Defendant James, with a government-sponsored and endorsed basis for making and perpetuating false claims about pro-lifers, causing further harm to Plaintiffs.
Many pro-life advocates have noted that James and her team have obviously not read RRR’s mission statement and rules of conduct, both of which are posted on its website. The first two of the 15 points listed under the RRR code of conduct read:
In keeping with the Christian principles upon which Red Rose Rescue is founded, those who participate in Red Rose Rescue will be peaceful, respectful, merciful and loving at all times.
Those who participate in Red Rose Rescue will refrain from violence of any kind during the Red Rose Rescue mission. Christian nonviolence is a pledge not to fight back but to imitate Jesus in His Passion, who offered no resistance to injury.
“RRR is a compassionate, totally peaceful attempt to help moms and defend the unborn scheduled for abortion,” Miller said in a press release after James’ June attack. “We can hardly be characterized as ‘terrorists’ when, indeed, the court transcripts of our many trials will show that police officers and even abortion center staff have testified under oath that Red Rose Rescuers are peaceful!” the plaintiff said.
The complaint is being filed against James individually and in her official capacity as attorney general of New York. Muise informed Church Militant that “while government officials often enjoy immunity from damage claims arising out of their official actions, there is no such immunity when a government official is acting ultra vires [beyond the powers], as in this case.”
Many observers are perplexed by James’ modus operandi and priorities in serving her state. As Muise stated in an AFLC press release, “With no hint of irony, Attorney General James turns a blind eye to the ongoing and destructive violent crime ravaging the streets of New York and instead uses the resources of her office to attack and defame individuals who abhor violence, including the violence of abortion.”