Police Arrest Woman Who Allegedly Vandalized New York Pregnancy Center
Amherst CompassCare vandalized sign. Photo courtesy of CompassCare.
A suspect has been arrested for another attack against a pro-life pregnancy help center in upstate New York. Hannah Kamke, 39, was arrested on Saturday, March 25, by the Amherst Police Department.
She was charged with one count of criminal mischief for spray painting a sign at the Amherst CompassCare location on March 16. The felony charge carries a mandatory sentence of one to five years under New York state law. The FBI assisted the local police department with the investigation.
According to a statement by CompassCare, the act of defacing its exterior sign with the red spray-painted letters “LIARS” was caught on the pregnancy center’s video surveillance equipment.
“This fits the definitions of domestic terror,” CompassCare’s president Jim Harden said in a press statement, adding that he believes it is a violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.
Harden is considering filing civil charges against Kamke under the FACE Act.
CompassCare has been operating since 1980 to minister to women in crisis pregnancies. The Buffalo location suffered a firebombing attack on June 7, 2022, after the leak of the Dobbs decision reversing Roe v. Wade.
It incurred over $500,000 in damage due to the violence. It took 52 days to rebuild the firebombed center, according to Harden.
Harden has criticized the FBI for a lack of communication and for “slow walking” the investigation into violence against CompassCare and other pregnancy centers.
It has teamed up with the Chicago-based Thomas More Society, a Roman Catholic public interest law firm, to conduct its own investigation of all violent events at pregnancy centers across the country, estimated to be 78. They will use the gathered evidence to file a civil suit.
The FBI has offered a $25,000 reward for information into the investigation of the firebombing attack on CompassCare. No arrests have been announced in that matter.
FBI Director Christopher Wray said the reward “reflects the FBI’s commitment to vigorously pursue investigations into crimes against pregnancy resource centers, faith-based organizations, and reproductive health clinics across the country.”
In January, two conspirators that vandalized pregnancy centers in Florida were indicted by the Department of Justice. The charges against them included violations of the FACE Act.
This piece is republished from MinistryWatch with permission. Kim Roberts is a freelance writer who holds a Juris Doctor from Baylor University. She has homeschooled her three children and is happily married to her husband of 25 years. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, gardening, and coaching high school extemporaneous speaking and debate.