WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A federal judge has found in favor of a Kansas abortion opponent accused of sending a threatening letter to a Wichita doctor who was training to offer abortion services.
U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten summarily ruled Thursday that Angel Dillard’s 2011 letter to Dr. Mila Means was not a “true threat.” The Justice Department had filed the civil lawsuit against Dillard under a law aimed at protecting access to abortion services.
The Valley Center woman wrote to Means saying she would have to check under her car every day because someone might place an explosive under it. Dillard has argued that the letter was constitutionally protected speech.
Marten ruled the government supplied no evidence that actual violence against the doctor was likely or imminent.