Group Jane's Revenge Takes Credit For WI Arson At Anti-Abortion Office

MADISON, WI — A group has taken credit for Sunday’s arson at the Madison offices of an anti-abortion organization.

In a series of tweets, Robert Evans, an investigative journalist for the website Bellingcat, explained he had received a statement from the group through an anonymous intermediary who Evans believed to be reliable. The group identified itself as Jane’s Revenge, an apparent reference to Jane, a Chicago-based collective that performed thousands of abortions in the pre-Roe vs. Wade era of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The message said Sunday’s attack was “only a warning” and that the group would “adopt the minimum military requirement for a political struggle” if anti-abortion establishments and anti-abortion organizations with a history of violence were not disbanded in 30 days. The arson came less than a week after a draft of a majority opinion that would overturn Roe vs. Wade leaked from the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Next time the infrastructure of the enslavers will not survive,” said the group’s statement, labeled “First Communique.” “ Medical imperialism will not face a passive enemy. Wisconsin is the first flashpoint, but we are all over the U.S., and we will issue no further warnings.”

The arson was reported about 6 a.m. Sunday at the offices of Wisconsin Family Action on International Lane. Police said Monday they had found two Molotov cocktails at the scene but had yet to make any arrests.

A photo of the scene taken by Wisconsin State Journal reporter Alexander Shur showed a message in spray paint on the building: "If abortions aren't safe, then you aren't either.”

"The Madison Police Department is aware of a group claiming responsibility for the arson at Wisconsin Family Action and are working with our federal partners to determine the veracity of that claim," said Stephanie Fryer, public information officer for the Madison Police Department, in a prepared statement Tuesday. "We take all information and tips related to this case seriously and are working to vet each and every one."

An FBI representative did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment.

Jane’s Revenge claimed to be “not one group, but many,” and to be “in every city.”

“We have run thin on patience and mercy for those who seek to strip us of what little autonomy we have left,” the statement provided to Evans said. “As you continue to bomb clinics and assassinate doctors with impunity, so too shall we adopt increasingly extreme tactics to maintain freedom over our own bodies.”

Anyone with information about the arson is asked to call Crimestoppers at 608-266-6014.