This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Red Rose protesters are those who enter abortion businesses and hand out red roses to those there, in the hope the women will reconsider their decision to destroy their unborn children.
Pro-abortion activists, often in public office, have responded many times by putting them in jail.
The Daily Caller News Foundation reported recently on a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Letitia James of New York against members of Red Rose Rescue to create a "buffer zone” around those businesses to protect pro-abortion interests.
In that agenda, James described Red Rose members as "terrorists."
She claimed, "We are also seeking civil penalties and damages because here in New York, access to abortion is legal, and it will stay legal and it’s my duty, my honor, and my responsibility to keep individuals safe from terrorists. And that’s what they are."
Now James herself has been sued. For falsely labeling the protesters "terrorists."
The American Freedom Law Center has announced a federal civil rights action in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York over James' "unlawfully targeting and defaming peaceful pro-lifers in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and New York law."
The plaintiffs are Michigan residents Monica Miller and Suzanne Abdalla, both of Red Rose Rescue.
"James falsely labeled those who associate with Red Rose Rescue as 'terrorists' and falsely claimed that Red Rose Rescue is a 'terrorist group,'" the AFLC said.
David Yerushalmi, senior counsel for the legal team, said James, "like many left-wing progressives in positions of power, has weaponized her office to target private citizens who oppose abortion on religious grounds."
He explained James' "false and defamatory statements are particularly egregious as she has a sworn duty to uphold the law and to provide equal justice under the law to all persons and organizations regardless of their religious beliefs and views on abortion."
He said the case seeks compensatory and punitive damages against James personally.
AFLC co-founder Robert Muise noted, "With no hint of irony, Attorney General James turns a blind eye to the ongoing and destructive violent crime ravaging the streets of New York and instead uses the resources of her office to attack and defame individuals who abhor violence, including the violence of abortion."
The complaint states, "Defendant James’ public dissemination of false information about plaintiffs is injurious to plaintiffs’ interests, which has caused and will continue to cause irreparable harm to plaintiffs and their public reputation. These false and defamatory statements also have a chilling effect on plaintiffs’ rights to freedom of speech and expressive association, and the defamatory statements have a chilling effect on the rights to freedom of speech and expressive association of other pro-lifers associated with Red Rose Rescue."
James stands accused in the complaint of "malice against pro-lifers."
By branding religious opponents (pro-lifers) as “terrorists,” defendant James seeks to officially censor, correct, and/or condemn certain religious beliefs, views, and ideas, it said.
In fact, James is accused of intending to "chill" the free speech rights of the plaintiffs.
The complaint said, "The purposes and effects of defendant James’ actions are to silence religious opposition to the pro-abortion policies that she supports; to marginalize pro-lifers by officially and pejoratively labeling them as 'terrorists'; to deter and diminish support for pro-lifers; and to provide a government-sanctioned justification for officials, including law enforcement officials, to harass and target religious opponents, thereby creating a deterrent effect on religious-motivated speech and views and the expressive association of pro-lifers, including plaintiffs. "
The action is seeking $5 million in damages.
It bluntly accuses James of harboring "malice, hatred, ill will, and spite toward pro-lifers as she is a militant and radical supporter of abortion on demand at any time…"
She also, the complaint charges, held a public press conference, "which in reality was a pro-abortion propaganda exercise, to ensure that her false and defamatory statements were widely reported… as she intended these statements to cause harm."
