FBI offers reward for info in Hope Clinic vandalism

The FBI Memphis Field Office is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of a suspect or suspects responsible for the June 30 vandalism of Hope Clinic in Nashville.

A window at the clinic, a pregnancy counseling center, was smashed and an unlit Molotov cocktail was tossed into the building. The attack occurred in the middle of the night when no staff or clients were onsite and there were no injuries.

The words “Jane’s Revenge,” were spray painted onto the side of the Midtown clinic.

At the time of the attack, Metro Nashville Police called it the “first act of vandalism seen as related to the U.S. Supreme Court abortion decision,” referring to the June 24 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Clinic. The decision overturned the federal protections for abortions guaranteed through the 1972 Roe v. Wade decision.

Established in 1983, Hope Clinic is a Christian pregnancy center that provides testing, counseling and parenting courses. Abortions have never been provided through the clinic and counselors work to steer women from abortions.

A statement from the FBI said the reward is offered as part of a national effort to bring awareness to a series of attacks and threats targeting reproductive health service facilities across the country.

In another case, the Knoxville Health Center was burned down on Dec. 31, 2021. Federal court documents unsealed in October identified Mark Thomas Reno as the man authorities said was responsible for the arson.