A 22-year-old man who faced felony charges after shooting at pro-lifers outside a Planned Parenthood location in Overland Park, Kansas, in March has been sentenced to 24 months of probation.

Key Takeaways:

• Dmarieon Matthews was sentenced to 24 months of probation following an incident in which he fired a gun outside a Planned Parenthood in Overland Park, Kansas.

• Matthews had accompanied a woman to the abortion facility, but became agitated when she would not exit the vehicle.

• When pro-lifers tried to verbally intervene, he threatened them with a gun before turning and shooting it into the ground.

The Backstory:

As Live Action News previously reported, in March, Dmarieon Matthews accompanied a female to the Overland Park Planned Parenthood. He reportedly became agitated because she refused to exit the vehicle. Pro-lifers who were nearby tried to verbally intervene, at which point Matthews waved a handgun in the air and pointed it at one of the pro-lifers, before turning away and shooting into the ground.

Police later identified Matthews as the culprit, and stopped his vehicle. They found him and the woman both in the car, along with a child who was not safely secured in a car seat. Drugs as well as two guns were also found in the vehicle.

The Johnson County District Attorney’s Office charged Matthews with one count of felony aggravated assault, two counts of felony aggravated child endangerment, and one count of misdemeanor marijuana possession.

The Details:

Fox 4 KC reports that Matthews has now been sentenced to 24 months probation, with the stipulation that if he violates that probation, he will serve 16 months in prison. That sentence is based on charges of aggravated assault using a deadly weapon and aggravated endangerment of a child.

Matthews reportedly entered a plea deal in June; a second charge of aggravated child endangerment as well as the marijuana possession charge were both dropped.

The Bottom Line:

While no motive for Matthews' violence has been released, his agitation after the woman refused to exit the car at the Planned Parenthood center could indicate an attempt at abortion coercion.

In one study, 64% of women who had abortions said they were pressured to do so. In another study, 74% of respondents felt some form of pressure to have an abortion. These situations show that in many cases, both preborn children and their mothers need protection from the violence of abortion.