Anti-abortion and anti-government, Scott Roeder appears to be a bomb with a short fuse. The Wichita Eagle has the best profile up so far:
The suspect in custody in connection with the slaying of abortion doctor George Tiller was a member of an anti-government group in the 1990s and a staunch opponent of abortion.
Johnson County sheriff's officials said Scott P. Roeder, 51, of Merriam, was arrested on I-35 near Gardner about three hours after the shooting.
In the rear window of the 1993 blue Ford Taurus that he was driving was a red rose, a symbol often used by abortion opponents.
Those who know Roeder said he believed that killing abortion doctors was an act of justifiable homicide.
"I know that he believed in justifiable homicide," said Regina Dinwiddie, a Kansas City abortion opponent who made headlines in 1995 when she was ordered by a federal judge to stop using a bullhorn within 500 feet of any abortion clinic. "I know he very strongly believed that abortion was murder and that you ought to defend the little ones, both born and unborn."
Further on...
Suzanne James, former director of victim's services for Shawnee County, said she remembered Roeder.
"He was part of the One Supreme Court, a Freemen group based out of Shawnee County," James said. "He was fanatic about a lot of things. I went to one of his court appearances and thought, 'This guy is dangerous.' There were a lot of red flags that came up about him."
In recent years, someone using the name Scott Roeder has posted anti-Tiller comments on various Internet sites. One post, dated Sept. 3, 2007, and placed on a site called chargetiller.com, said that Tiller needed to be "stopped."
"It seems as though what is happening in Kansas could be compared to the 'lawlessness' which is spoken of in the Bible," it said. "Tiller is the concentration camp 'Mengele' of our day and needs to be stopped before he and those who protect him bring judgment upon our nation."
Sounds like a lot of people. And maybe that's the problem.
Mark Silk digs up info about Prayer and Action News, the publication Roeder subscribed to, and which once published a guide making the case for killing abortion providers.
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It is true, Hitler did advocate and order the killing of the Jews. This is common knowledge. There was never a written order sent from Hitler but often times Hitler would not write them down. Contained in the text "The Holocaust: Problems in European Civilization," which is a number of excerpts from Holocaust texts, Walter Laquer says, "He (Hitler) was not in the habit of giving written orders on all occasions: there were no written orders for the murderous 'purge' of June 1934, for the killing of gypsies, the so called euthanasia action (T4) and on other such occasions. The more abominable the crime, the less likely that there would be a written 'Fuhrer' order." I learned this in the Holocaust History class I am taking in college: a place a would recommend many of you look into going to. Facts are king and I recommend you look into them.
John in NoVa: Thanks for your comment on my comment. As easy as you find condemnation for this cowardly act, I'm sure you could find either outright support or left-handed and equally cowardly support (e.g. Operation Rescue's "this is a shame but the doctor got what he deserved" stance as given voice to by Randall Terry). Give it a try.
Facts *are* king, but if you only look at the ones that support your viewpoint or cause, like Scott Roeder obviously did, then there is cause to be concerned.
Best regards.
There are too many people in this world to keep track of and the crazies will always find a way into mainstream society. That Doctor did not deserve to die - regardless of whether we agree with the medicine he practiced or not. God makes final judgements, not humans. Any good Christian knows that. I will continue to pray for those who don't know what to do when they get pregnant and those that take issue with the decisions made. That is what I was commanded to do!
"Your Name," Randall Terry has not been a member of Operation Rescue for well over a decade, well over two if memory serves, and I've even been told he got kicked out of OR (despite having founded it) because he wouldn't adhere to their strict code of nonviolence:
http://www.operationrescue.org/index.php?s=Sullenger+bombing
Excerpt:
Operation Rescue has an impeccable record of peaceful pro-life activism. Since the mid-1980’s there have been well over 70,000 arrests for peaceful civil disobedience in the fine tradition of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. There has never been a conviction of a violent act by a pro-life supporter at any Operation Rescue event in the history of the organization. [end of excerpt]
The President of Operation Rescue, Troy Newman, has made a public statement denouncing the murder and disavowing any connection with Scott Roeder, the prime suspect in the murder:
http://www.operationrescue.org/archives/operation-rescue-statement-regarding-suspect-in-tiller-killing/
In all the blogs I have looked at since the murder of Tiller, the people condoning it are outnumbered by the people condemning it. Freedom of speech and the press, as interpreted by our federal courts, is too precious a thing to be tampered with.
May YWVH bless Scott Roeder.
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