An Illinois man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after committing arson at a Planned Parenthood facility in Peoria in January.
On January 15, 32-year-old Tyler Massengill of Chillicothe walked to the facility with, according to the criminal complaint, a “laundry-detergent-sized bottle. [He] allegedly lit a rag on fire on one end of the bottle, smashed a window with an object, then placed the container inside of the building. The subject then quickly left the area on foot.”
Though not mentioned in the press release, Massengill is a career criminal, not a pro-life activist, though he had expressed anger over a girlfriend’s past abortion as a “trigger” for him in this case. He has had 26 known arrests in Peoria County alone; including violent mob action, burglary, theft, and more. When he committed the arson, he was already on probation for a domestic battery incident, as well as aggravated assault with criminal trespass to a residence, according to Peoria County court records.
After Massengill is released from prison, he will have three years of supervised release; he was also order to pay $1.45 million in restitution. He pled guilty to the arson, saying if it caused a delay in women receiving “services” at the Planned Parenthood facility, it will have been worth it.
“Massengill’s actions represent the very real threat posed by extremists in our communities,” Special Agent in Charge David Nanz of the FBI Springfield Field Office said in a press release. “Protecting the American people from such extremists remains a top priority for the FBI and our team remains laser-focused on identifying, investigating and disrupting individuals who cross the line from expressing protected speech to violating federal law.”
And though Nanz said the FBI has been “laser-focused” on those who commit crimes like Massengill’s, the FBI has been slow to investigate cases of violence against pro-life organizations, individuals, and pregnancy centers.
The media narrative has continued to claim that the abortion industry is under constant threat from the pro-life movement, even though FBI Director Christopher Wray admitted before Congress that 70% of attacks relating to Roe v. Wade‘s reversal last summer were perpetrated against pro-life groups.
