MADISON, Wis. – Eight months after someone threw two Molotov cocktails into Wisconsin Family Action’s office in Madison, the group’s president is feeling optimistic a cash incentive from the feds will lead to some answers.
The FBI is one of three agencies investigating the attack, and on Thursday they announced they would be offering up to $25,000 for information leading to the conviction of whoever is responsible.
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WFA president Juliane Appling said after months of repairs, she and her staff are back at the office and things are starting to get back to normal, but that doesn’t mean they’re done demanding justice.
“Obviously, I don’t work for the FBI. I don’t work in law enforcement. I don’t know all the inner workings of how long it takes them to do an investigation of this nature,” she said, “but it would seem to me that [after] eight months that there would be some development in it that they could share with me.”
Shortly after a Supreme Court draft indicating the end of abortion protections under Roe v. Wade was made public last May, the pro-life group’s headquarters on Madison’s north side were firebombed.
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Appling met with the FBI Wednesday for the first time since the incident after the bureau reached out with the Madison police detective assigned to their case. She said they didn’t tell her anything new but they assured her they working hard to get answers. She’s praying the reward will help make that happen.
“Maybe $25,000 is a high enough reward that somebody who knows something can contact the Madison Police Department and say ‘Hey, I can give you information,” she hoped.
The FBI’s cash offer also applies to several other similar attacks on reproductive health services facilities across the country, including pro-choice locations. FBI director Christopher Wray said in a statement the rewards are a reflection of the bureau’s commitment to vigorously pursue these types of investigations.
“We will continue to work closely with our national, state, and local law enforcement partners to hold responsible anyone who uses extremist views to justify their criminal actions,” he added.
WFA is also offering its own reward of $5,000 dollars for information leading to a conviction in the attack. To this day, no suspects have been identified, though a group known as “Jane’s Revenge” later claimed responsibility.
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