Antiabortion Advocate Convicted of Sending Anthrax Hoax Letters to Abortion Clinics Sentenced to 19 Years in Prison

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 11 Jul 2005 - 19:00 PDT

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US District Judge Anita Brody on Thursday sentenced antiabortion advocate Clayton Waagner to 19 years in prison without the possibility of parole for several federal convictions, including threatening to use a weapon of mass destruction, the... Allentown Morning Call reports. Waagner in 2001 mailed hundreds of letters signed by the antiabortion group Army of God and claiming to be contaminated with anthrax to clinics that perform abortions, causing some clinics to be evacuated and closed to deal with the scare (Grossman, Allentown Morning Call, 7/8). In October 2002, Waagner pleaded not guilty to a 79-count indictment on federal terrorism charges that was issued in relation to the mailings, which went to abortion providers in 24 states. A federal jury in Philadelphia in December 2003 convicted Waagner on 51 federal charges -- including violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, extortion, and making and mailing threatening communications -- but acquitted him on two charges relating to an Internet posting that listed 42 abortion clinic employees whom he allegedly wanted to kill (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 8/25/04). Waagner currently is serving a 49-year prison sentence on weapons' possession and prison escape convictions in Illinois and Ohio.

Terrorism Charges
Waagner -- who represented himself during the sentencing -- asked Brody to delay the sentencing so he could plead guilty to other pending federal charges, but Brody denied the request (Shiffman, Philadelphia Inquirer, 7/8). Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Barrett had urged Brody to issue a life sentence in the case, which would have been possible if the judge concluded Waagner had committed acts of terrorism (Allentown Morning Call, 7/8). Waagner mailed his letters during the anthrax scares that followed the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "He wanted to exploit the moment to use the anxiety and panic caused by those other terrorist acts to fuel his own brand of terror," Barrett said (AP/Yahoo! News, 7/7). However, federal law defines an act of terrorism as an act against the government, and Brody said Waagner was "solely interested in retaliating" against abortion providers (Allentown Morning Call, 7/8).

Waagner Comments, Reaction
Waagner told the jury he was "tickled" that some of the recipients of his letters were still traumatized, adding, "It's been clearly demonstrated that I am the antiabortion extremist, a terrorist to the abortion industry. There's no question there that I terrorized these people any way I could" (Philadelphia Inquirer, 7/8). Dayle Steinberg -- president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania, whose clinics received some of Waagner's letters -- said, "We're relieved. He's where he should be" (Smith, Philadelphia Daily News, 7/8).

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