School’s Lawsuit Forces Pro-Life Activist to Limit Advocacy

A pro-life activist who served five years in prison for planning to bomb a Maryland abortion clinic has agreed to limit his advocacy in front of a school located next to a Washington, D.C. clinic under construction.

According to The Washington Post, Robert Weiler and Two Rivers Public Charter School agreed to a permanent injunction that, once approved by a judge, would stop Weiler from going on the school’s property. He would also be prevented from blocking access to Two Rivers, and limits the hours during which Weiler may protest.

Weiler’s style of protest—including sign types and sizes, and language choice—are also limited in the agreement.

One of five pro-life activists named in a lawsuit filed by the charter school in 2015, Weiler spent five years in prison after his parents reported him to police for intending to bomb an abortion clinic. Diagnosed with ADD and bipolar disorder, Weiler was also found to be illegally in possession of a firearm when police arrested him in 2006.

Three years after his release, Weiler was arrested in 2014 while protesting in front of the same Maryland clinic he had intended to bomb. He told the Post that he agreed to the injunction in part because he planned to discontinue his activism in front of the school.

The lawsuit is being challenged by some of the other four defendants, who are accused of various actions, including yelling at students and parents, blocking access to the school, trespassing, chasing parents to hand out pro-life literature, and holding graphic images of abortion victims.

Two of the defendants told LifeSiteNews last year that their actions are protected by the U.S. Constitution. "Two Rivers has built their case on exaggerations, half-truths, and outright lies. They are using the same tactics their new neighbors, Planned Parenthood, has been using against pro-lifers since Roe v. Wade, but that's to be expected when people's wallets are involved,” said Lauren Handy.

Describing herself as "an activist committed to peaceful, prayerful, and public witness" who is "against all abortion-related violence, especially violence in the womb," Handy called it "a tragedy to see our First Amendment rights being suppressed in our nation's capital."

Larry Cirignano also said his actions were entirely legal. "We complied with the police officer and stood off the sidewalk. I did not yell or engage with students. I did hold a picture of an abortion victim."

Jacinta Whiting, a mother who ran several peaceful 40 Days for Life prayer vigils, wasn’t involved in the events surrounding Two Rivers or the abortion clinic located next door. She told The Register that pro-life advocates “should avoid being annoying as that is a barrier to effective communication,” but that attempts to “fight any pro-life activists need to be resisted” because they are “contrary to free speech rights.”

Reverend Patrick Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition has led protests in front of the clinic next to Two Rivers. Not named in the lawsuit, he told LifeSiteNews that parents oppose the construction of the clinic, which is expected to open in the fall.