CHEYENNE, Wyo. A Wyoming woman was charged with setting fire to a building being renovated for the state’s only abortion clinic. This was hours after a judge temporarily blocked an ban on abortion which had been in effect for a few days.
Lorna Roxanne, 22 years old, of Casper, was taken into custody Tuesday by agents from the FBI and U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said Nicholas Vassallo, Wyoming U.S. attorney.
According to the statement, Green could face up to 20 years imprisonment and a $250,000 penalty if she is convicted. On Thursday, Green is due to appear before a federal court in Cheyenne.
The fire started in Casper on May 25, 2022 at a stucco home. Casper is the second-largest state city and a frequent site of anti-abortion protests.
Witnesses told police that they heard glass breaking. They also saw someone leaving the area with a black bag and a gas can. Police released security video that showed a woman wearing a mask and a hood carrying what appeared like a red fuel container through a room in the building before the fire.
The fire, which caused smoke damage and broken windows at the Wellspring Health Access clinic in Wellspring Health Access, did not cause any injuries.
“Now that a suspect is arrested, we can keep our singular focus on providing quality reproductive healthcare to the Casper community, in a safe and compassionate environment,” Wellspring President Julie Burkhart stated in a statement.
The clinic was scheduled to open in the summer of last year as the only one of its kind in the state. It will offer women’s health, family planning, and gender-affirming care. These plans were delayed by the fire.
The plan was to open it next month, but Gov. Mark Gordon approved that a new, broad abortion ban was put into effect on Sunday. After a hearing where abortion-rights advocates claimed that the law was harmful to pregnant women and doctors, and in violation of the state constitution, Teton County Circuit Court Judge Melissa Owens stopped the ban on Wednesday. Owens lifted the ban for at most two weeks
This ban prohibits all abortions at any stage of pregnancy, except for cases of rape and incest that are reported to police or to save a woman’s life. A Wyoming Constitution amendment states that adults have the right to make their own decisions about health care. Republicans passed a ban banning abortion as health care.
Owens also had blocked a prior ban shortly after it was put into effect last summer.
Before the ban, Jackson had a Jackson clinic that offered medication abortions.
