The Baltimore police department has released the horrific footage of an abortion activist who brutally assaulted two men outside a Planned Parenthood abortion business last month.
As LifeNews reported, Dick Schafer and Mark Crosby were assaulted and seriously injured during the attack outside Planned Parenthood in Baltimore. Police have confirmed that a pro-abortion man brutally assaulted the older pro-life advocates They have not apprehended the suspect, but the American Center for Law and Justice has taken the case in an effort to provide justice.
Police previously confirmed they were in possession of video footage from the assaults. They say the abortion advocate tackled Schafer to the ground and kicked the 73-year-old Crosby “with extreme force” in the face. Police also confirm witness corroborated the initial report that both pro-life men were victims of an assault.
Law enforcement officials released that video today, which graphically depicts the brutal assault and confirms testimony of the victims, witnesses and law enforcement about the unprovoked nature of the attack.
A white man with a beard who appears to be in his 20s viciously attacks the pro-life men after a hated exchange about abortion. He tackles Dick Schafer to the ground, which forces him into a large planter, injuring him.
After Mark Crosby comes running to Schafer’s assistance, the abortion advocate attacks him to the ground, punches him and kicks him in the face with full force.
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“BPD Detectives in the Central District need your help identifying a suspect involved in an assault that took place on May 26, 2023, in the 300 block of North Howard Street around 10:20 a.m.,” the Baltimore police department said in a message accompanying the video.
“Surveillance video shows the suspect assault two men outside of the Planned Parenthood building,” it added.
Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at: 410-396-2411. To remain anonymous, call Metro Crime Stoppers Of Maryland at 1-866-7LOCKUP.
Both men say they bear the physical pain and injuries from the attack but they are better off than babies killed in abortions. Crosby will require multiple surgeries.
“I’m not well,” Crosby told CNA. “But I’m better off than a baby that’s been butchered.”
Schafer, whose injuries were less severe, said he didn’t think twice about returning.
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“I think [Crosby] might have taken a few more blows that I might have gotten,” he said. “After Mark [Crosby] did that, I had no choice but to go down there again.”
“It’s not for everybody, but I like being there, that’s for sure,” Schafer said.
Schafer provides sidewalk counseling, in which he engages with men and women who are walking into an abortion facility. He hands out literature, tries to converse with them about choosing life, and directs them to resources that can help them with the pregnancy.
“I talk to people going in there and I offer some help,” Schafer said. “I ask them to choose life.”
Crosby, whose picture has gone viral because of the brutality of the attack, says he is at Planned Parenthood to pray for women considering abortions.
“I always have my rosary in my hand,” he told CNA, adding that he sprinkles blessed salt and holy water outside the clinic’s entrance. He prepares baggies with rosaries, prayer cards, and a prayer book, which he said he offers to those he encounters at the clinic.
“I don’t counsel people,” Crosby said. “I’m not a protestor. … I walk around in front of Planned Parenthood. I’m usually out in the street and I pray the rosary, and I don’t counsel people unless they come over to me.”
Meanwhile, CNA reports that the ACLJ is helping the two men.
Given the brutality of the attack, Crosby and Schafer are pursuing legal action and are being represented by American Center for Law and Justice, a conservative nonprofit legal team.
“This is horrific, and we’re appalled that it happened,” Olivia Summers, senior litigation counsel for ACLJ, told CNA.
“There’s been an escalating violence against the pro-life community … since Dobbs,” Summers added.
Summers said the ACLJ is still in the fact-gathering stage and is in contact with the police about finding out who the man responsible is.
Metro Crime Stoppers released photos of the pro-abortion man who allegedly assaulted the elderly pro-life men.
According to one of the victims and a witness, the protesters were praying outside the Planned Parenthood building on Howard Street when a man believed to be in his late 20s, in their words, “went on a rampage” following an argument over abortion rights.
“He didn’t like their opinion or what was being said. The gentleman just took it into his own hands,” said a witness who asked to remain anonymous.
According to the witness, the assailant knocked Dick Schaefer out cold. It’s believed the assailant didn’t like Schaefer’s anti-abortion message.
“He speared the one gentleman over that flowerpot into the window and knocked him out. He was out cold for several minutes,” the witness said.
Schaefer told the 11 News I-Team that he has hand, shoulder, head and back injuries.
“I leaned down. I was hit by a truck. I don’t know what happened, but instantly, I was looking up to the sky,” Schaefer told the I-Team.
Local police are offering a $2,000 reward for information leading to the capture of the suspect. Anyone with information is asked to call Metro Crime Stoppers at 866-7LOCKUP.
Meanwhile, a local pro-life advocate who is friends with both men has confirmed they are back in action. However, Jody Ward is concerned that Crosby in particular should be taking care of himself after his face was fractured from the assault.
“Both Dick and Mark were back on the sidewalk in Baltimore,” War said in a Facebook post. “John Roswell (right in photo) cautions that Mark is overdoing it. He is to be on bedrest as he has 3 facial surgeries ahead. He would appreciate your continued prayers.”
Ward provided more background about what happened during the attack.
“An angry man walked up to a “clinic escort” and asked her to hold his drink. Then, as Dick’s back was turned, he lifted Dick off the ground and threw him into the plate glass window. Dick fell, knocking over a large planter and striking his head, losing consciousness temporarily,” she said. “Mark came to Dick’s aid. As he approached, the attacker then turned on Mark, punching him in the face. Mark fell to the ground. The assailant then kicked Mark in the head. His external injuries are apparent … His cheekbone was shattered and he has been spitting up blood.”
“Please pray for healing for both Dick and Mark. Pray that the Baltimore City police will be diligent and successful in pursuing the attacker who fled from the scene and in bringing him to justice,”she wrote.
As a local CBS News outlet reports:
The responding officer found the more severely injured victim, a 73-year-old man, at a local business. According to police, the man had “a large lump forming on his right eyebrow and blood and swelling around the right eye and right side of his face.”
The victim told police he was demonstrating outside Planned Parenthood when an unidentified man attacked a fellow demonstrator, identified as an 80-year-old man.
The victim said he immediately tried to help but was hit by the suspect and fell to the ground, where he was struck in the face. He allegedly told police he didn’t remember anything after that.
A volunteer worker who witnessed the incident told police it began with a debate over abortion rights. The witness reported that the suspect “did not yell or use obscenities, but that the suspect did talk in a loud manner to get his points across.”
After the heated verbal exchange, the pro-abortion suspect launched the assault on the two men.
“The suspect is then observed about to turn away but rushes [at the victim] and tackles him over a large flowerpot,” police said.
According to the police description of the attack, the pro-abortion suspect attacked Schafer first and Crosby came to his pro-life friend’s aid before the suspect shoved him to the ground and kicked him so aggressively to the face he fractured the bone.
“The video continues and shows the suspect strike [the victim] in the face with a closed fist as [the victim] is on his back on the ground,” police said. “The suspect is then observed standing up and with extreme force, kicks [the victim] directly in the face.”
Ultimately, Crosby was rushed to University of Maryland Shock Trauma center and was “diagnosed with a large hematoma, hyphemia, and head and neck pain.” Crosby’s cheek has been fractured, he will likely require a metal plate in his face.
Schafer was reportedly slammed against the building of the abortion business so hard that a heavy planter was toppled. After the incident, a nurse from a nearby pregnancy center came to aid the victims and provide medical care to them.
Police indicate they are still searching for the suspect.
Meanwhile, a funding page has been set up to support Crosby and help defray the costs associated with his medical bills.
“One of our volunteers, Mark Crosby, was brutally beaten on May 26, 2023 while he was praying in front of the Planned Parenthood in Baltimore City. Mark is currently in the hospital being treated for the serious injuries he sustained. Please make a donation to help Mark recover financially from this terrible experience,” Walton writes.
“For years, Mark has prayed in front of the Planned Parenthood in Baltimore City to let the scared, young abortion-minded women know that they are loved, that their baby is loved. Please donate to show Mark how much HE is loved. Your donation will go to Mark to help him pay for medical expenses,” he continued.
The horrible assault comes just days after news surfaced that a leftist man in Michigan who shot a pro-life grandma while she campaigned door to door against abortion will only receive community service for his crimes.
Joan Jacobson, a retired nurse, was visiting homes in Lake Odessa, Michigan to pass out literature opposing Proposal 3, which has legalized abortions up to birth in the state. After radical leftist Sharon Harvey got into an argument with Jacobson, her husband Harvey approached Jacobson with a gun and shot her as she was trying to leave the couple’s property.
Harvey has admitted to firing a warning shot at Jacobson before shooting the elderly woman but claims it was an accident. Jacobson and her attorney say that’s completely false and point out that Richard Harvey had already fired a warning shot and Jacobson had turned away to leave the couple’s property in her vehicle.
Now Harvey, who pleaded no contest to the charges, will merely get community service as a punishment.
Meanwhile, churches and pro-life organizations across the world have been hit by a wave of arson, vandalism, threats and other crimes in the past few years. LifeNews counted about 250 abortion-related attacks in 2022, including the shooting of an elderly pro-life woman in Michigan and ten arson/attempted arson attacks.
Attacks on Christian churches in the United States alone have almost tripled in the past four years, according to a December report from the Family Research Council. In April, the organization released supplemental data documenting 69 additional attacks in the first quarter of 2023. In comparison, there were 15 or fewer attacks within the same time period in 2018 through 2021, FRC found.
Others have documented a rise in attacks on churches and Christian organizations in Europe and Canada. According to True North, at least 71 churches in Canada have been vandalized or set on fire within the past two years.
The increase in crime has prompted many churches and pro-life organizations to increase security measures. In the United States, Republican lawmakers have been demanding action from the Biden administration to crack down on domestic terrorism against pro-life advocates and Christians. But, while the Biden administration has been aggressively working to expand the killing of unborn babies in abortions, it has done seemingly little to stop the violence and hostilities directed at pro-life advocates and churches.
