WASHINGTON— Last Thursday, the National Right to Life Committee, Inc. (NRLC) issued requests for records relating to the Army’s designation of it as a “terrorist group” during a training event at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, on July 10, 2024. Shockingly, the training event included a slide listing National Right to Life under the bold, all-caps heading, “TERRORIST GROUPS,” as well as bullet points listing examples such as “Pro Life” and “Oppose Row [sic] v Wade.” Were these baseless and sweeping vilifications of NRLC and pro-life people in general not appalling enough, the slide also mentioned peaceful pro-life activities, such as sidewalk counseling.

In a scathing indictment, Representative Jim Banks (R-IN), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Military Personnel, together with numerous Republican colleagues, sent a letter to Christine Wormuth, Secretary of the Army, demanding answers about who vetted these training materials, whether this was an official Army policy, and whether Secretary Wormuth would commit to actions ensuring such outrageous “terrorist” classification of pro-life groups like NRLC and its members would not occur again.

Now, seeking further answers, the Bopp Law Firm, PC, headed by James Bopp, Jr., general counsel for NRLC, has used the federal Freedom of Information Act, commonly known as “FOIA,” to seek further information about this “terrorist” designation on NRLC’s behalf. The firm sent FOIA request letters to five entities up the military chain of command, from Fort Liberty itself up to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, seeking documents (including electronic documents, such as email communications) pertaining to this training in particular or to any Army policy or decision that targets pro-life people, activities, or beliefs. FOIA requires the release of a broad range of records possessed by government agencies such as the Army. Accordingly, FOIA requests such as these are an essential tool in uncovering the government official or agency from which this targeting originated.

“That those tasked with defending the American people should use their power to create dangerous, politically-based labels is outrageous. This is precisely the opposite of how our founders intended for federal power to be used,” said Bopp.

“It is stunning that training tools used by the U.S. Army vilified a well-recognized, peaceful pro-life group such as National Right to Life,” said Carol Tobias, president of NRLC. “The U.S. Army needs to answer why its training materials lied about the nature of pro-life work in general and specifically about National Right to Life.”