Anti-choice extremist Troy Newman was described as a “former board member” of Center for Medical Progress (CMP) by conservative outlet The Blaze in an article discussing a lawsuit recently filed against Newman and CMP.

In July 2015, CMP launched a smear campaign against Planned Parenthood, falsely charging in a series of deceptively-edited videos that the heath care provider illegally sold fetal tissue. Newman, who is also the president of the extremist anti-choice organization Operation Rescue, was identified as a board member for CMP and frequently hyped the organization's campaign.

Yet a recent article in The Blaze leaves his status as a CMP board member in doubt. A January 19 article at Glenn Beck's conservative website The Blaze referred to Newman as a “former board member for the Center for Medical Progress” and also noted that this was a change made after the original publication, appending the article: “This post has been updated to reflect that Troy Newman is a former board member for the Center for Medical Progress.”

Newman's bio on Operation Rescue's website, however, refers to him as a board member for CMP. From Operation Rescue (emphasis added):

Troy is the current co-host of Life Talk, a monthly video magazine. He also serves on the board for a number of pro-life groups, including for the Center for Medical Progress, the organization that has made headlines with its hard-hitting videos exposing Planned Parenthood's participation in the illegal trafficking of fetal remains.

No other media outlets appear to have referenced Newman's change in status as board member for CMP. Other anti-choice activists in the past have praised Newman's role in helping CMP by providing “strategic input, guidance, and advice” to the organization.

If the change in status is true, the timing is curious. On January 14, Planned Parenthood named Newman, along with CMP founder David Daleiden and four other individuals, as defendants in a federal lawsuit which alleges CMP and some members of its leadership engaged in a conspiracy against PPFA and broke numerous federal and state laws, “including the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO, as well as invasion of privacy and recording laws.”

Newman is one of the country's most notorious anti-choice activists and has a long history of incendiary remarks and actions. He has engaged in personal harassment of workers for an abortion provider. According to The Washington Post, Newman has made remarks “apparently praising the killing of abortion doctors and calling women who have abortions 'murderers.'” Most recently, after the November 30 shooting at a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood health center that killed three people, Newman said the event was “exactly what” Planned Parenthood had “been hoping for.”