After Action Report: Rescue Resurrection Memphis, TN

Written By Gladys Kravitz

The march to sit in front of defenders for their camera crews, after failed attempts at blockading both doors.

Rescue Resurrection, December 3-5, Memphis, TN

EVENT LOCATIONS:

  • Rescue Resurrection Academy, 708 N. Highland St., Memphis, TN

  • Planned Parenthood, 2430 Poplar Ave, Ste 100, Memphis, TN

THREAT SYNOPSIS: 

Attempted blockades at clinic, resulting in the arrest of 17 people, threat of vehicle strike, excessive media presence, with potential for continued harassment, both to the clinic, and volunteers.

HIGH LEVEL TAKEAWAYS:

  • Collaboration between the clinic, law enforcement, and local and traveling volunteers was very successful

  • Effective mobilization and training of volunteers in a two week period to defend clinic doors, while working with clinic escorts to prevent the first attempt at blockades at both doors, resulting in a camera-focused sit in that did not prevent the passage of any patients.

  • The motivations of the speeches given at the hostile training facility, the cross section of attendees at the event, and the plans for future actions in multiple states, points toward a continued pattern of escalation in coming months.

  • Offsite speeches and conversations encouraged violent escalation and pointed participants toward resources and potential collaborators. The majority of participants onsite were either seasoned blockaders who have multiple arrests under their belt, violent offenders, thought leaders who preach the importance of escalation and being “battle ready,” veterans of the original Operation Rescue, and some were even featured on the Army of God website.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Rescue Resurrection (RR) is a new campaign formed by Randall Terry of Operation Rescue (OR), and Terrisa Bukovinac of Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising (PAAU), under the new legal entity Viva Cristo Rey, Inc. Viva Cristo Rey took possession of the school, church, and residences formerly owned by Bellevue Baptist Church at 704 North Highland Street, Memphis TN. The organization has been explicit in their intention to use the facilities to train new anti-abortion activists to “bring back rescue” in the tradition of Terry’s reign at Operation Rescue, which resulted in hundreds of arrests, arsons, and shootings at abortion clinics throughout the 80s and 90s.  While reproductive health clinics in Tennessee no longer provide abortions due to a state ban, RR went forward with their intentions to blockade the clinic, while pushing the narrative in their social media posts and to law enforcement that the clinic’s practice of referring patients out of state to access services constitutes some violation related to moving minors cross-state.

Most notably, while the group in attendance was small, the people that did show up were from a wide range of ideologies (Operation Rescue, Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising, Red Rose Rescue, Army of God), but shared the common goal of escalation. While speakers talked about starting a metaphorical fire on camera, in the church, attendees were being directed to resources if they wanted to step up their activism into violence.

EVENT CONTEXT

Planned Parenthood Memphis Health Center Midtown is one of two Planned Parenthood locations in the Memphis region (though the other is temporarily closed), and is not a member of the National Abortion Federation, but does have its own security team and the support of Planned Parenthood national. The clinic does not currently provide abortion services, but does refer patients out of state.

The clinic allowed volunteer clinic escorts to support patients inside the parking lot, and on the public land where anti-abortion protesters gathered. In the last several years, they had discontinued their clinic escort program, as it was no longer necessary with the end of abortion services, however the core group of escorts reconvened for this event, with new additions from other local allied groups. Escorts and defenders practiced a strict non-engagement model with protesters, and for the purposes of the event, had a ring of clinic defenders circling each door to prevent blockaders, preventing protesters from barring it completely, allowing for no disruption of clinic activity.

The protesters leading this event have employed a number of tactics at other clinics in the past, including blockading doors, gluing locks, chaining themselves to gates and other infrastructure, accessing the clinic lobby via false appointments or force, graphic signage, harassment of and violence against clinic escorts, including harassment of them online, and in public spaces off clinic property, targeting them and their families, family businesses, and legal harassment. They also have close associations with people who have carried out extreme violence against abortion providers, including arson and murder. Participants in attendance included convicted arsonists, and people who are featured on the Army of God website, or in active communication with former Army of God leader, Michael Bray. Their current call to action is a direct reference to the history of violence against abortion providers that led to the passing of the FACE Act.

HISTORIC THREATS AND POTENTIAL ACTORS

 NATIONAL ASSESSMENT/CONTEXT

Current status of the FACE Act

Normally, abortion facilities are federally protected by the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which is enforced by the FBI Reproductive Rights Task Force. In January 2025, President Trump pardoned 23 individuals who had been convicted of FACE Act Violations, and signed an DOJ memo to demand that the FBI no longer pursue FACE violations, except in extraordinary circumstances. Due to the recent policy changes, it is safe to assume that there will be no assistance from the FBI on FACE violations.  

REGIONAL ASSESSMENT/CONTEXT

Human Life Protection Act

In August of 2022, Tennessee enacted the Human Life Protection Act, banning abortion procedures with limited medical emergency exceptions throughout the state. Any remaining health facilities do not provide abortion services, but may refer patients out of state to obtain services.

HB 1314 – State anti-doxing legislation

HB 1314 combats the threat of mass violence online, otherwise known as “doxing.” The law makes it a Class E felony to threaten an “act of mass violence” by any means of communication. The felony is enhanced to a Class D felony if the threat involves a school property, house of worship, government office, or at a live performance or event. There is also an additional Class B misdemeanor added by the law for the offense of posting a person’s telephone number and address online with the intent to threaten or cause harm. If harm is caused by the threat, the misdemeanor is enhanced to Class A.

HB 0099 and SB 0685 – State legislation against unlawful photography

The law enhances the penalty from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class E felony for an unlawful photograph that would offend or embarrass an ordinary person if the photograph was focused on an intimate area of the body. This also requires the offended, if convicted, to be registered as a sexual offender. The law also enhances a Class E felony to a Class D felony when the defendant unlawfully shares photos involving minors under 13 years old. If the defendant was in a position of trust or authority over the minor, that Class D felony is increased to a Class C felony.

THREAT ACTORS

Operation Rescue 

Operation Rescue (OR) is an abortion “abolitionist” organization that also has extreme anti-Muslim, anti-LGBTQ+ views. The leadership and followers of OR over the years also have a laundry list of criminal offenses - blockades, trespassing, arson, assault, and several members were part of the violent anti-abortion terrorist group Army of God, who held an annual event to celebrate people who had been incarcerated for killing abortion providers. Operation Rescue split into two organizations following founder Randall Terry’s departure – Operation Rescue (currently run by Troy Newman), and Operation Save America (currently run by Jason Storms).  In recent years, there has been a drastic increase in members participating in blockades of abortion clinics, with several of them resulting in arrests and FACE charges. All of those cases were pardoned by Donald Trump in January of 2025. Under Terry’s leadership from 1987 to 1989, OR was responsible for thousands being arrested during weeks long clinic blockades. During one of these marathon blockades in 1988 – the Seige of Atlanta - several of the incarcerated members of Operation Rescue collaborated on the Army of God manual, a handbook of violent practices for disrupting abortion clinics, including an entire chapter on the construction of explosives.

Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising 

Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising (PAAU) is an abortion “abolitionist” organization that purports to be made up of progressive youth that include Democrats, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and activists that do not fit the typical conservative anti-abortion priorities. They are most well known for their participation in the theft of a box of medical waste containing the remains of 115 products of conception, which they then gruesomely displayed in videos on social media, and subsequently fetishized in craft projects, merchandise, and costumes for a protest outside of the White House. They are also known for “Pink Rose Rescue” clinic invasions (borrowed from the more explicitly Catholic Red Rose Rescues), where their members access clinic lobbies (often with fake appointments) to harass patients, giving them roses to convince them to cancel their appointments.

Red Rose Rescue

Red Rose Rescue (RRR) is a Catholic anti-abortion organization led by Fr. Stephen Imbaratto and Monica Migliorino Miller. RRR has a history of dozens of clinic invasions and blockades throughout the United States. In spite of the federal pardon for people convicted under the FACE Act, several members of Red Rose Rescue currently have  active state level suits and terms of release restricting them from participating in clinic harassment activities.

Army of God

The Army of God (AOG) is an informal organization of anti-abortion extremists who were declared a Domestic Terror organization due to their association with clinic arsons, the murder of several abortion providers, and the creation of the Army of God manual, which provided detailed instructions for how to carry out violent actions against abortion clinics, and how to make bombs for that purpose.

Rescue Resurrection participants at Clinic

Rescue Resurrection participants that did not go to the Clinic

Noteworthy excerpts from Church livestream on 12/3

00:00-05:00 – Terry discusses his & Fidelis’s conversations with Memphis police about their intentions and what to expect

03:37: Terry explains that Fidelis can't get arrested because he has a warrant out in NJ and if he gets arrested again he'd get "hung up in the system"

05:00-10:00 – Terry discusses the need for a (metaphorical) fire and how they need to be the ones to start it.

4:28:35, Fidelis says they don't know if anyone from the pro-abortion side will be there or not.

4:36:40: "Who wants to get locked? We have bike locks. And we have zip ties." — Bukovinac

4:43:50: "If there's pro-aborts there, we'll just sit around the pro-aborts. The point is to keep the facility closed."

RAW LINKS

Gladys Kravitz
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