Federal officials are bracing for a potential surge in violence once the Supreme Court hands down the ruling that's expected to overturn Roe v. Wade, according to a Department of Homeland Security memo obtained by Axios. Law enforcement agencies are investigating social-media threats to burn down or storm the Supreme Court building and murder justices and their clerks, as well as attacks targeting places of worship and abortion clinics. The May 13 memo from DHS' intelligence arm says threats that followed the leak of a draft opinion — targeting Supreme Court Justices, lawmakers and other public officials, as well as clergy and health care providers — "are likely to persist and may increase leading up to and following the ruling.
Abortion-related violence historically has been driven by anti-abortion extremists. "Some racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists’ embrace of pro-life narratives may be linked to the perception of wanting to 'save white children' and 'fight white genocide,'" the memo says. It warns that this time, extremist acts could come from abortion-rights proponents. The mass shooting in Buffalo, N.Y., over the weekend has "complicated everything even more," said Jonathan Wackrow, a risk management consultant and a former Secret Service agent. The Biden administration has focused on combatting domestic violent extremism. Regional fusion centers — state-level hubs for communicating threat-related information — are sounding the alarm. A Virginia fusion center document cites the possibility of doxing and cyber attacks on abortion facilities, as well as violence from non-abortion-related extremists.