GUARDIANS, OK (CBSDFW.COM) – A suspect was arrested in connection with a recent threat against Texas lawmakers voting in favor of the new fetal heartbeat abortion law. That’s the word from Sentinel, Oklahoma Friday night, September 24th.
Officials arrested 20-year-old Sentinel’s Austin Wendell Lund in connection with the threat.
CONTINUE READING: State Fair takes additional measures to ensure the safety of guests
Lund’s case is being prosecuted by the Payne County, Oklahoma District Attorney.
Arrest Texas lawmakers for endorsing / voting a new fetal heartbeat abortion law (Image: Payne County)
Earlier this week, CBS-11 learned that 101 lawmakers, most of them Republicans, had been warned of a credible threat by the Texas Department of Public Security after they voted for the fetal heartbeat bill earlier this year.
Plano’s Republican representative Matt Shaheen, who backed the bill during the regular legislature, said Wednesday he received a call from DPS Tuesday night and also spoke to the FBI about the threat. “You’re alerted at first, but to be honest, we get these kinds of threats every now and then.”
A source said that while lawmakers had previously received threats individually, the difference was that so many were threatened at the same time. Representative Shaheen said the threat was received in a post on Reddit social media site from a man in Oklahoma. He said his name and that of 100 other lawmakers were included in the post, and the man who made the threat mentioned the bodies to the legislature. “It was unsettling. Obviously someone who has mental health problems is a very angry person. “
Democratic State representative Ana Maria Ramos of Dallas voted against the fetal heartbeat law and condemned the threat.
“It’s never okay,” she said. “And it’s scary for all of us because these are my colleagues, right? These are people, the people in plenary and in the legislature, who also sacrifice their time to fight for what they think is best for our country. So it’s never okay. It is frightening.”
The Texas Department of Public Security declined to comment but said in a statement: “The Texas Department of Public Security takes all personal and public safety matters very seriously and we do not discuss details of ongoing threats and investigations.”
The fetal heartbeat law made headlines this month after the Supreme Court refused to block it. By law, doctors cannot perform an abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected. A fetal heartbeat can be detected as early as six weeks, when many women are unaware that they are pregnant. There is no exception with rape and incest.
CONTINUE READING: State Fair features hundreds of free acts, shows, and exhibits
Shaheen said, “It’s really easy for me. If there’s a little baby with a heartbeat, it deserves to live. The Declaration of Independence states that we are endowed with certain inalienable rights by our Creator, including life. So this little baby is a little life. “
The law does not allow government agencies to enforce this, but individuals can file civil lawsuits against doctors and others and can be fined $ 10,000 per procedure.
Ramos said, “It allows anyone who has not even been personally injured by a woman making decisions with her family, it allows anyone to get into their personal affairs and attack them in court or attack their family through their back in the courts. So I really hope that the Supreme Court will reject it and make it unconstitutional. We cannot allow neighbors to attack neighbors in our community. “
The Biden administration is filing the bill in federal court in Austin, where a hearing is scheduled for October 1st.
Various other legal challenges related to the law have also been filed in a variety of state and federal courts.
The abortion law is among several Texas bills that have received national attention.
This summer, dozens of Democrats in the House of Representatives crossed the quorum and traveled to Washington, DC to block the Election Integrity Act.
Rep. Ramos said when she and other Democrats broke the quorum this summer, they also received threats. “So I know how it feels. They actually did that to us a few months ago. It’s just a shame we’re here today. “
MORE NEWS: 12-year-old girl from Richland Hills dies of fentanyl overdose
The electoral law was passed after the House of Representatives reached a quorum last month. Ramos and Shaheen disagree on the bills but agree that threats of violence are unacceptable. Rep. Shaheen said, “I would condemn any kind of threat to any elected official, whatever the issue.”
[ad_1]
