On Jun 7, 6:03*pm, HK wrote:
Suspect in abortion doctor death warns of violence
By ROXANA HEGEMAN, Associated Press Writer Roxana Hegeman, Associated
Press Writer 1 hr 27 mins ago

WICHITA, Kan. – The man charged with murdering a high-profile abortion
doctor claimed from his jail cell Sunday that similar violence was
planned around the nation for as long as the procedure remained legal, a
threat that comes days after a federal investigation launched into his
possible accomplices.

A Justice Department spokesman said the threat was being taken seriously
and additional protection had been ordered for abortion clinics last
week. But a leader of the anti-abortion movement derided the accused
shooter as "a fruit and a lunatic."

Scott Roeder called The Associated Press from the Sedgwick County jail,
where he's being held on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated
assault in the shooting of Dr. George Tiller one week ago.

"I know there are many other similar events planned around the country
as long as abortion remains legal," Roeder said. He would not elaborate.

Tiller's clinic in Wichita was among only a few in the U.S. that perform
third-trimester abortions. He was shot while serving as an usher at the
Lutheran church he attended.

Asked if he shot Tiller, Roeder replied that he could not comment about
that and said he needed to clear everything with his lawyer.

Justice Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a written statement
Sunday that "we take this matter seriously, which is why the Attorney
General ordered increased protection of appropriate people and
facilities last week."

Tiller's clinic had been a target of regular demonstrations by abortion
opponents. Most were peaceful, but his clinic was bombed in 1986 and he
was shot in both arms in 1993. In 1991, a 45-day "Summer of Mercy"
campaign organized by Operation Rescue drew thousands of abortion
opponents to Wichita, and there were more than 2,700 arrests.

Jim Cross, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office, did not
immediately comment Sunday on Roeder's statement.

The Justice Department opened an investigation Friday to see if the
gunman who killed Tiller had accomplices. The DOJ said its Civil Rights
Division and the U.S. attorney's office in Kansas will investigate
whether the killing violated a 1994 law creating criminal penalties for
violent or damaging conduct toward abortion providers and their patients.

An attorney for the Tiller family, Dan Monnat, said he wasn't sure they
should be dignifying Roeder's actions and threats with a response "every
time he makes a hare-brained phone call."

"I am hopeful that state and federal authorities, including Homeland
Security, will give Mr. Roeder and his information a deserving
response," Monnat said, declining to elaborate.

Nancy Keenan president of NARAL-Pro-Choice America, said Roeder's
comments "continue to escalate that kind of activity, that kind of
violence. Quite honestly, I think it's imperative for anti-choice groups
to tone down that rhetoric and keep the more extreme elements in their
movement form copying Scott Roeder."

A funeral was held Saturday for Tiller. Most anti-abortion groups
avoided the service, having denounced Tiller's shooting.

Troy Newman, president of the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue, read
about Roeder's statement and e-mailed The Associated Press, saying:
"This guy is a fruit and a lunatic."****

Roeder, a 51-year-old abortion opponent, was arrested a few hours after
the shooting just outside Kansas City.

He told the AP he refused to talk to investigators when he was arrested,
and has made no statements to police since then.

"I just told them I needed to talk to my lawyer," Roeder said.

In two separate calls to AP on Sunday morning, Roeder was far more
talkative about his treatment at the Sedgwick County jail, complaining
about "deplorable conditions in solitary" where he was kept during his
first three days there.

Sedgwick County Sheriff Robert Hinshaw said that Roeder is receiving
appropriate medical treatment.

"It is after all a jail, but a modern state-of-the-art facility with
professional staff," Hinshaw said. "While Mr. Roeder may not care for
being in the Sedgwick County jail, all of our conditions and policies
are designed to provide safety and security for all inmates, staff and
public at large."

Roeder said it was freezing in his cell. "I started having a bad cough.
I thought I was going to have pneumonia," he said.

He said he called AP because he wanted to emphasize the conditions in
the jail so that in the future suspects would not have to endure the
same conditions.

Roeder also said he wanted the public to know he has been denied phone
privileges for the past two days, and needed his sleep apnea machine.

----

**** Now that is rich...one of the operation rescue lunatics calling
someone else a lunatic.

That's a very long cut and paste. Surprised that your computer can
handle such a task. Has your wifelet upgrated your system?