A woman in Austin, Texas has been arrested and charged with aggravated assault after throwing a "Molotov cocktail-type device" at a group of pro-lifers holding a prayer vigil outside of a Planned Parenthood. The flame in the bottle was stamped out before the wick could ignite the fuel inside, preventing the device from exploding.
From KVUE:
Police said 52-year-old Melanie Maria Toney threw the object out the passenger side window of her car where two anti-abortion protesters standing outside of the clinic at 201 East Ben White Boulevard around 6:30 p.m. Monday.
One of the protesters, Ruth Allwein, said she was praying in the grassy area as a volunteer with Texas Alliance for Life when she saw Toney throw the bottle.
"It looked like some sort of bottle, and it had an ignited wick in it, so my first instinct was backing away," said Allwein.
First and foremost, thank goodness nobody was hurt and it's incredible that someone had the presence of mind to extinguish the device before it exploded. Secondly, it goes without saying that there are appropriate ways to discuss the legality of abortion...and this was definitely not one of them. Tossing Molotov cocktails does not promote any kind of productive dialogue.
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