The US military has sparked “outrage” among lawmakers and leaders of Christian groups after labeling pro-life groups “terrorists” during a recent training session.
The Fort Liberty garrison in North Carolina is facing criticism after photos of a slide show trainers gave during a counterterrorism briefing circulated on social media.
The slide categorized anti-abortion and pro-life organizations as “terrorist groups,” indicating they could pose a threat to the security of military installations.
Examples include Operation Rescue and the National Right to Life, and people with ‘IM4IT’ license plates on their vehicles, called ‘choose life’.
Twenty-five lawmakers, including members of the House Armed Services Committee, signed a letter to US Secretary of Defense Christine Wormuth, expressing her “outrage” over the “disturbing” training session.
The US military has sparked “outrage” among lawmakers and leaders of Christian groups after labeling pro-life groups as “terrorists” during a recent training session
The U.S. military’s training slide categorized “anti-abortion” and “pro-life” organizations as “terrorist groups,” indicating they could pose a threat to the security of military installations
“We are writing today to express our outrage over a Directorate of Emergency Services (DES) training at Fort Liberty that characterized pro-life organizations as ‘terrorist groups,’” the letter reads.
‘During the training, several prominent and respected pro-life groups were labeled as violent extremists.
‘The training also revealed that members of these organizations pose a threat to the security of military installations and that they view symbols of pro-life groups, including state-issued pro-life license plates, as indicators of terrorism.
“This is truly shocking for an organization that insists on treating everyone with ‘dignity and respect.’”
The letter, led by Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), said the training session was for 47 “uniformed soldiers assigned to guard access points at Fort Liberty.”
“Training the gatekeepers at the installation to ensure that service members and their families with pro-life license plates are considered suspicious and pose a potential terrorist threat to the installation is not only absurd, but dangerous,” the letter states.
The garrison at Fort Liberty in North Carolina is facing criticism after a photo of a slide show given by trainers during a counterterrorism briefing circulated on social media
Twenty-five lawmakers, including members of the House Armed Services Committee, signed a letter to U.S. Defense Secretary Christine Wormuth (pictured) expressing “outrage” over the “disturbing training session”
“Young soldiers who are trained to view certain state-issued license plates as a terrorist threat are at greater risk of being involved in an unnecessarily confrontational situation with otherwise permitted drivers attempting to enter Fort Liberty.”
The letter called on the military to “immediately correct” the slide and “discipline those responsible for spreading such false and divisive claims.”
Lawmakers also demanded answers as to how the slide was allowed into the presentation in the first place.
Several pro-life leaders also spoke out against the training module. Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life, called the briefing “deeply offensive.”
“In a presentation deeply offensive to pro-life Americans across the country, Fort Liberty spread outright lies about the nation’s right to life, demonstrating laziness in science,” Tobias said in a statement.
“Throughout our more than 50-year history, National Right to Life has consistently and unequivocally condemned violence against anyone.”
Several pro-life group leaders, including Tony Perkins (left) and Carol Tobias (right), also spoke out against the training module
Lawmakers signed a letter criticizing the U.S. military for labeling “several prominent and respected pro-life groups as violent extremists” during a training session. (Pictured: A pro-life rally outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., in June 2024)
Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, a conservative Washington-based Christian activist group, also strongly criticized the training rut.
“This is insane! Beyond alarming. Being pro-life, peacefully standing up for the sanctity of human life, and trying to stop the murder of unborn children makes you a terrorist?” he wrote on X.
The US military has not yet publicly responded to the negative reactions.