Jane's Revenge was a militant, extremist abortion-rights group that encouraged and claimed responsibility for acts of firebombing, vandalism, and arson in the United States. The group's actions targeted crisis pregnancy centers, a Christian church, and a congressional office. The claimed attacks began in May 2022 following the leak of a draft of the Supreme Court's anticipated decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization; the draft indicated that the Court would soon overturn its 1973 abortion rights decision in Roe v. Wade, and the Court, in fact, did reverse Roe the following month when its final decision in Dobbs was released.
The group was mostly active during the spring and early summer of 2022. Updates on the group's blog of further attacks ceased after July 8, 2022.
History On May 6, 2022, a draft of the Supreme Court of the United States decision Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization was leaked to the public. The draft indicated that the Court intended to overturn two previous decisions, Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), which had conferred constitutional protections upon abortion rights. Jane's Revenge formed in response to the leak, posting its "First Communiqué" on May 8, 2022. (The name "Jane's Revenge" may refer to the pseudonymous "Jane Roe" of Roe v. Wade or to the Jane Collective, an underground organization founded by Heather Booth in 1969 that helped women obtain abortions prior to Roe v. Wade.) Posted after the firebombing of a crisis pregnancy center in Madison, Wisconsin, the "First Communiqué" read, in part, as follows:
The main public mouthpiece of Jane's Revenge is an anonymous blog that lists actions taken that have been signed "Jane's Revenge", and sometimes claims credit for said actions. The firebombing in Madison, Wisconsin, was the first incident for which Jane's Revenge claimed credit.
On June 15, 2022, Jane's Revenge posted the following on its blog:
Later, Jane's Revenge called for a "night of rage" to occur if the Court overturned Roe.
After the June 24 Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade was released, Jane's Revenge vandalized a crisis pregnancy center in Virginia, and committed arson at a second center in Colorado. The FBI was called in to investigate the instance of arson in Colorado. Jane's Revenge has claimed responsibility for a series of other arson attacks and acts of vandalism, some of which occurred before Dobbs was released and some of which occurred afterwards. Mary Ziegler, a law professor at University of California, Davis, has attributed the actions of the group to a growing distrust in government and democratic institutions.
On June 28, The Intercept reported that Facebook had internally labeled Jane's Revenge a terrorist organization, making the topic subject to the most stringent content filtering.
Major actions
Date Target City Metro Area State Attack type Claimed? May 8, 2022 Wisconsin Family Action Madison Madison Wisconsin Firebombing, arson, property-destruction, vandalism Claimed May 14, 2022 Alpha Pregnancy Center Reisterstown Baltimore Maryland Property-destruction, vandalism Claimed May 22, 2022 St. Michael's Catholic Church Olympia Seattle Washington Vandalism Claimed May 25, 2022 Next Step Pregnancy Services Lynnwood Seattle Washington Vandalism Claimed May 30, 2022 Dove Medical Center Eugene Eugene Oregon Property-destruction, vandalism Claimed May 30, 2022 South Broward Pregnancy Center Hollywood Miami Florida Property-destruction, vandalism Claimed June 2, 2022 Agape Pregnancy Resource Center Des Moines Des Moines Iowa Property-destruction, vandalism Claimed June 7, 2022 CompassCare's Buffalo (Pregnancy Resource Center) Amherst Buffalo-Niagara Falls New York Firebombing, property-destruction, vandalism (2 firefighters injured) Claimed June 7, 2022 Mountain Area Pregnancy Services Asheville Asheville North Carolina Property-destruction, vandalism Attributed June 8, 2022 Options360 Women's Clinic Vancouver Portland Washington Vandalism Claimed June 10, 2022 First Image (Crisis Pregnancy Center) Gresham Portland Oregon Firebombing, property-destruction, vandalism Attributed June 19, 2022 The Lennon Pregnancy Center Dearborn Heights Detroit Michigan Property-destruction, vandalism Claimed June 19, 2022 Pregnancy Care Center Redford Detroit Michigan Property-destruction, vandalism Claimed June 21, 2022 Office of Rep. Tim Walberg and Jackson Right to Life Jackson Metro Detroit Michigan Property-destruction, vandalism Attributed June 25, 2022 Life Choices MinistryLongmontLongmontColoradoArsonAttributed June 25, 2022 Blue Ridge Pregnancy CenterLynchburgLynchburgVirginiaProperty-destruction, vandalismAttributed June 26, 2022 Tree of Life Pregnancy Support CenterPaso RoblesSan Luis Obispo-Paso RoblesCaliforniaProperty-destruction, vandalismAttributed June 26, 2022 LifeChoice Pregnancy CenterWinter HavenLakeland-Winter HavenFloridaVandalismAttributed June 27, 2022 Two Hearts Pregnancy AidEverettSeattleWashingtonArson, vandalismAttributed July 5, 2022Birthright (Crisis Pregnancy Center)St. PaulTwin CitiesMinnesotaProperty-destruction, vandalismAttributed July 8, 2022Problem PregnancyWorcesterWorcesterMassachusettsVandalismClaimed July 8, 2022Clearway ClinicWorcesterWorcesterMassachusettsProperty-destruction, vandalismClaimed August 19, 2022Bethlehem HouseEasthamptonSpringfieldMassachusettsVandalismClaimed April 15, 2023HerChoiceBowling GreenToledoOhioVandalismAttributed
Government response In May 2022, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) stated that Jane's Revenge was the target of an ongoing investigation. The Madison, Wisconsin, police department also announced an investigation of their own in collaboration with the ATF.
In June 2022, after the Dobbs v. Jackson decision was released, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a memo concerning the group. The memo described Jane's Revenge as "a network of loosely affiliated suspected violent extremists [which] has been linked to arson attacks against the buildings of ideological opponents", warning of risk of violence that "could occur for weeks following the release" of the Supreme Court decision.
In March 2023, a superseding indictment from the U.S. Department of Justice named four members of Jane's Revenge, whom they announced were facing prosecution under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act for conspiring to both vandalize and threaten multiple crisis pregnancy centers in Florida. On June 14, 2024, three of the defendants, Caleb Freestone, Amber Stewart-Smith and Annarella Rivera, pled guilty to the charges while the fourth, Gabriella Oropesa, was convicted by a jury on December 19, 2024. On February 12, Freestone was sentenced to a year in prison, while Stewart-Smith and Rivera were each sentenced to 1 month in prison and 60 days in home detention. Oropesa was fined a $13,000 civil penalty and on March 13, 2025, she was sentenced to 120 days imprisonment.
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