An anti-abortion extremist group calling itself the “Army of God” has claimed responsibility for the bombs which exploded at an Atlanta abortion clinic and lesbian nightbar. The Army of God first gained visibility in 1982 with the kidnapping of Dr. Hector Zevallos, an abortion provider, and his wife in Granite City, Illinois. Members of the Army of God claimed responsibility for and were later convicted of the kidnapping. In 1994, an Army of God manual, which outlines how to bomb clinics and commit other acts of terrorism, was found in the backyard of Shelley Shannon, who was later convicted of shooting Dr. George Tiller and 30 counts of arson and bombings.
A unit of the group claimed responsibility in a letter it sent to an Atlanta news agency. The letter contains knowledge of what materials where used to create the bombs and promises to bomb again. The letter also calls for a “total war” against the U.S. government. Eleanor Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority Foundation, commented on the letter, “For some time, we have believed that a group of people have been acting in concert to terrorize abortion clinics. We have been saying that these extremists are not single issue and that they believe in justifiable homicide against lesbians and gay men and adulterers as well as abortion providers.”
