Planned Parenthood Shooting Suspect Due To Make First Court Appearance

The man accused of opening fire at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs was due for his first appearance in court Monday, as speculation continued to mount over what motivated the attack and how authorities would prosecute the suspect.

Dear is accused of killing Officer Garrett Swasey and two civilians, Iraq war veteran Ke’Arre Stewart and mother of two Jennifer Markovsky, who were accompanying separate friends to the clinic.

Police released a statement on Sunday that they would not discuss Dear’s motives for the attack, the type of weapon used or a timeline of events.

She doesn’t specifically say that rhetoric motivated the attack Friday in Colorado Springs.

Dear has been described by acquaintances as a reclusive loner.

Neighbors who live near Dear’s former SC home say he hid food in the woods and lived by selling prints of his uncle’s paintings of Southern plantations and the Masters golf tournament.

“He didn’t talk about them or anything”.

An unnamed senior law enforcement official told the New York Times that, in an meandering interview with authorities, Robert Lewis Dear spoke about “no more baby parts”.

Citing unnamed law enforcement sources, several USA media outlets said Dear made the “no more baby parts” comment to investigators after surrendering.

U.S. Justice Department officials have joined the investigation, raising the possibility the federal government could bring a terrorism or civil rights case against Dear. Walsh did not elaborate. One possible avenue is the 1994 Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which makes it a crime to injure or intimidate clinic patients and employees.

“Hateful” speech by anti-abortion activists and politicians has contributed to Friday’s shootings at the Colorado Springs, Colo.

After Monday’s hearing, District Attorney Dan May said Dear could face other charges, but he did not elaborate.

Planned Parenthood already was on heightened alert against threats of violence nationwide.

“That may or may not be the case here”. “We were both really excited to see each other”.

While Planned Parenthood declined to disclose specific security measures, some health centers have “increased patrols from dedicated security guards, while others have upgraded their monitoring systems”, Eric Ferrero, vice president of communications for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement today, noting that the group’s health centers have increased security “over the last few months as inflammatory rhetoric about Planned Parenthood increased”. The organization has denied seeking any payments beyond legally permitted reimbursement of the costs for donating the organs to researchers.