We get this from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Anti-abortion extremist James Kopp, who admits he was the sniper who killed an abortion doctor in 1998, will defend himself against federal charges of violating abortion clinic access laws.
A judge granted Kopp permission Tuesday to represent himself.
Kopp's first move was to abandon his former attorney's efforts to prevent federal prosecutors from using his statements detailing how and why he shot Dr. Barnett Slepian.
Kopp says the statements he made during his 2003 second-degree murder trial contain "truths about my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ," according to court filings.
Kopp, 51, is serving 25 years to life in prison after being convicted on the state murder charge. Federal prosecutors want an additional conviction to ensure he is never released.
This idiot has no idea who Christ is. You can't understand the message and come away with 'go shoot some poor guy'. "Truths about my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ," my ass.
This is the danger of religious extremism. This idiot is no different than the idiots crashing planes into buildings on 9/11. The only difference is in scale.
Kopp was a member of an organization named, ironically, The Lambs of Christ. According to WomensEnews.org, "Prior to Kopp's alleged career as a sniper, he served as the advance man, or intelligence operative, for the militant Operation Rescue-style Catholic direct action group, Lambs of Christ, headed by Fr. Norman Weslin. In 1992 Weslin told a reporter 'unless you understand that this is a colossal war between Jesus Christ and Satan, you don't understand what we are doing.'
"Kopp was present at pivotal episodes in the history of militant anti-abortion activism. He has been arrested in connection with numerous clinic blockades, including a major blockade of The Ladies Center in Pensacola. Fla., in 1986. It was later the site of the first known murder of an abortion provider, Dr. David Gunn, by local clinic protestor Michael Griffin."
Does the federal government consider Lambs of Christ a terrorist organization? Not as far as I can determine. A search of government servers with Google's Uncle Sam search brings up only court documents. The feds are, apparently, unconcerned.
Yet, the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups and domestic terrorism tells us, "Fr. Norm Weslin, leader of the itinerant, anti-abortion Lambs of Christ group, was asked what the biggest problem facing the 'lambs' is. 'Satan' was his reply. The notion that the constitutionally protected practice of abortion is considered a literal struggle with 'Satan' suggests that Weslin foresees a religious war. Indeed, many anti-abortion activists see just such a jihad as already underway, with themselves playing a central role."
Despite being told by the Clinton administration that their biggest problem would be al Qaida and islamic terrorism, the Bush administration ignored al Qaida in favor of cracking down on internet porn. 9/11 was the result of those misplaced priorities. How likely do you think they are to take christian extremism seriously?
--Wisco
