Pastor Details ‘Surreal’ Experience Dealing With Feds Over Pregnancy Center Firebombing
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A faith leader who runs crisis pregnancy centers in upstate New York is alleging he had a “surreal” experience with Federal Bureau of Investigation officials after his pro-life clinic was firebombed, claiming agents screamed at him on the phone and waited months to put out a most wanted poster.
The Rev. Jim Harden, president of CompassCare Pregnancy Services in Rochester, New York, told CBN’s Faithwire communication with state and federal officials has been “sparse” since his Buffalo clinic was firebombed in June—just weeks before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
“With respect to local law enforcement, they’ve been the most communicative,” Harden said, adding the caveat he believes the FBI has negatively influenced local authorities.
But that’s not Harden’s only claim.
“[The FBI] stopped communicating with us, refused to communicate with me after June 24th … that’s the day that the Dobbs case came out officially overturning Roe vs. Wade,” he said.
The faith leader said his relationship with the FBI became tenser when he asked on the evening of June 24 if officials would do anything to help protect his clinics in light of the Supreme Court decision and the rage and anger that followed. Rather than pledge assistance, he said the FBI “communicated rage.”
“They literally started screaming at me on the phone. I’m not kidding you,” Harden said. “It was a surreal incident.”
At the time, he and his family had to move locations due to threats and attacks, and he was concerned considering one clinic had already been firebombed. After that conversation in June, Harden said it was months before he again communicated with the FBI.
During those months of purported silence, his organization also began challenging authorities in court to give back surveillance footage Harden handed over from the night of the attack.
“They didn’t communicate with me up until Oct. 12,” Harden said, noting this was the day Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and others released a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray, asking why violence against pro-life organizations was purportedly not being investigated with appropriate fervor.
For the rest of this article, visit our content partners at faithwire.com.
Reprinted with permission from cbn.com. Copyright © 2022 The Christian Broadcasting Network Inc. All rights reserved.
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