The National Right to Life Committee, Inc. (NRLC) has requested records relating to its classification as a “terrorist group” during a U.S. Army training event at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, in July 2024. Issued on Thursday, these requests come in response to the startling inclusion of NRLC under the label “TERRORIST GROUPS” in a training slide and the categorization of pro-life activities as examples of extremism.
Representative Jim Banks (R-IN), chairman of the Subcommittee on Military Personnel, along with numerous Republican colleagues, expressed outrage over these implications in a letter to Christine Wormuth, Secretary of the Army. In it, they inquired who had approved these training materials, whether this classification was official Army policy, and whether there were measures in place to prevent this kind of unfounded branding of pro-life groups like NRLC.
The Bopp Law Firm, PC, led by NRLC’s general counsel James Bopp Jr., has utilized the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to explore deeper into this “terrorist” designation on behalf of NRLC. Five FOIA request letters were sent to different military command levels, seeking documents linked to this training or to any Army policy targeting pro-life people, activities, or beliefs.
FOIA stipulates the disclosure of numerous records held by government agencies. Therefore, requests such as these are critical to trace the origin of this classification and ensure accountability. Both Bopp and Carol Tobias, NRLC’s president, conveyed their alarm over the Army’s vilification of their organization and the misrepresentation of pro-life work.