Troy Newman, one of the anti-choice extremists behind the deceptive videos targeting Planned Parenthood, believes that the recent shooting at the organization's Colorado Springs facility “is exactly what they've been hoping for” because it makes them “the victims” instead of “the victimizers.”  

Newman is the president of Operation Rescue and a board member for the Center for Medical Progress (CMP), which has been releasing videos smearing Planned Parenthood and accusing them of illegal behavior. Multiple investigations have cleared Planned Parenthood of illegal activity.

The alleged perpetrator of the deadly Colorado Springs shooting reportedly said “no more baby parts” after his arrest. As The Washington Post noted, the line “would appear to be a reference to recent controversy over Planned Parenthood's handling of fetal tissue. In July, the Center for Medical Progress released a video showing Planned Parenthood's senior director of medical research discussing the preservation of fetal hearts, lungs and livers for use in research."

On November 27, Newman released a statement saying that “Operation Rescue unequivocally deplores and denounces all violence at abortion clinics.” 

Newman has a long history of incendiary remarks that include “praising the killing of abortion doctors and calling women who have abortions 'murderers.'” He has tried to “shut down abortion clinics by systematically harassing their employees into quitting.” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) recently accepted Newman's endorsement for president, calling him “a driving force in the recent effort to expose Planned Parenthood's alleged sale of baby parts in a series of undercover videos.”

During a November 30 interview on The Drew Mariani Show, Newman claimed that Planned Parenthood was thankful for the deadly attack because the group can now portray itself as “the victims.”  

When asked by Mariani if the shooting is “helpful to Planned Parenthood,” Newman replied: “Planned Parenthood, you know, desperately needs something to save their bacon from being defunded and thrown in jail, the multiple investigations in Congress, etcetera. They need something to deflect and this is exactly what they've been hoping for. Something to deflect the attention away from them as being the victimizers and back on to being the victims, that's where they like to be, is to be the poor victim.”

He also dismissed arguments that CMP's videos influenced the shooter's thinking, claiming: “So if, and I'm saying a big if -- if there is a heightened awareness of the gruesomeness of abortion, it's not our rhetoric. It's the abortionists themselves that have been uncovered and shown to be who they are. And if people are disgusted by it, it's because we've caught the abortionists telling the truth.”

From the November 30 edition of Relevant Radio's The Drew Mariani Show:

DREW MARIANI: But since the videos began airing, this article contended that threats against abortion clinics nationwide have spiked. Now I've never heard that before, I've never seen that anywhere. I don't know where the empirical evidence or data for that is. Since your films began, has there been violence against these clinics and, you know, is there any connection between what has been brought to the national, to the nation in this incident?

NEWMAN: Well, I love the question. Actually, I love the premise of the question because I've been asked it so many times by far-left wing reporters over the past weekend. And I say the question is essentially is my rhetoric in the videos causing violence because we're talking about babies being murdered, and their body parts sold. And so I spin the question back on these reporters and I said, 'Listen, what is in the videos? Have you watched them? ' In fact, there's no commentary by pro-lifers pointing something out saying, 'this is murder.' No, the videos, all eleven of them, show abortionists speaking more like pro-lifers than pro-lifers do. They're the ones haggling over baby body parts. They're the ones describing the dismembering of innocent children. They're the ones who are discussing that they want a Lamborghini in exchange for, you know, these body parts. They're the ones talking about the gruesome nature of the abortion procedure and how they change it to put their profit margin ahead of women's health.

So if, and I'm saying a big if -- if there is a heightened awareness of the gruesomeness of abortion, it's not our rhetoric. It's the abortionists themselves that have been uncovered and shown to be who they are. And if people are disgusted by it, it's because we've caught the abortionists telling the truth.

[...]

MARIANI: Is this event helpful to Planned Parenthood? I mean it's horrible when you see the loss of life but in terms of, I don't know, kind of taking the fire from their feet, so to speak, does this in some respects, I don't -- take some heat off of them? You know what I'm saying?

NEWMAN: Well, look, they're already fundraising off of it. They're already attempting to deflect and make us the murderers and not them. I took a picture of a screenshot over the weekend where it said Planned Parenthood has been declared a crime scene. Well every single abortion clinic should be declared a crime scene.

MARIANI: Amen.

NEWMAN: These people are selling baby body parts for a profit. They're committing many, multiple felonies and there's prima facie evidence in our videos to prove that what we need is prosecutions.

But Planned Parenthood, you know, desperately needs something to save their bacon from being defunded and thrown in jail, the multiple investigations in Congress, etcetera. They need something to deflect and this is exactly what they've been hoping for. Something to deflect the attention away from them as being the victimizers and back on to being the victims, that's where they like to be, is to be the poor victim. 'Just health care officials just trying to provide health care for women' and the radical, anti-choice extremists, or misogynist pigs like me are the ones trying to hurt them. 

MARIANI: Well bottom line it's a tragedy to see this unfold --

NEWMAN. Yes.

MARIANIA. -- and happen. I want to commend you though on your work and your vigilance. You know you're going to come under attack for exposing this type of evil.