An arrest warrant has been issued for abortionist Theodore Roummel, who apparently ran into a pro-life sidewalk counselor on purpose. twice at the Women’s Center of Saginaw in Michigan in June.
The alleged attack
Last month, pro-lifer Mark Zimmerman told Live Action News that abortionist Roummel his car struck him twice, seriously injuring Zimmerman.
“I was standing in the driveway and the abortionist ran over my leg [using his vehicle]. And then he had to reverse to get off my leg, so he ran over me twice,” Zimmerman said. “He stopped his car and came over when the police came, and was yelling at the police about how we always run in front of him — no. But I had four witnesses who saw what happened. So they gave a statement to the police, and he wasn’t arrested. He went on and ended his day with five abortions.”
Zimmerman was left with a fractured tibia. “It’s close to my ankle, and so I have a solid brace to keep it in place,” she says. “They’re going to put a rod in my tibia with some pins and screws, and that’s less recovery time. I have a walker and a wheelchair that I use, and some crutches when I need them. But I have a beautiful wife who takes care of me.
According to Lynn Mills, director of Pro-Life Michigan, no one notified Zimmerman that an arrest warrant had been issued for Roummel. Pro-Life Michigan filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, which is how the arrest warrant was discovered.
“He’s getting better; she walked out of the abortion facility,” Mills told Live Action News about Zimmerman. “He did not know — the police did not tell him that the arrest warrant had been issued. I think myself and Pro-Life Michigan, we’re at the forefront of doing FOIAs and finding information.”
Courtesy of Lynn Mills
History of hitting pro-lifers
Mills said Roummel had been accused of hitting pro-lifers with his car in the past, but a lack of documentation meant he got away with it – but when the attacks were caught, action could be taken.
“Roummel tried to hit me with his car; he has a habit of doing it,” she said. “Other pro-lifers have complained about him doing this before, in a different location. They just wouldn’t follow him, they wouldn’t shoot him, so he kept getting away. But this is the second time pro-lifers in Michigan have caught it, caught it, and filed charges against it. And I think it’s important.”
After Roummel assaulted Mills himself in 2012, he was arrested, charged with assault, and placed on probation for six months. But he didn’t want to take responsibility for anything, according to Mills.
“They were fighting tooth-and-nail to not get probation, to not have any consequences, and the judge was very kind, but firm, to him,” he recalled. “He doesn’t want a record. He didn’t want to be put on probation. It’s like, OK, you get put on probation and then your record is expunged — what are you afraid of? But he is a reckless driver and he always targets pro-lifers. The next step is the city of Livonia playing the videotape in court; he didn’t want that, so we had to take the plea deal for him to be on probation.”
Video footage of the current attack
As in Mills, the video of Zimmerman’s attack was captured by the facility’s security camera. Although grainy, Zimmerman – the man in jeans and a white shirt – can be seen walking into the driveway. Roummel drove fast around the corner, and Zimmerman could be seen backing up until he finally fell. Roummel stopped his car with Zimmerman on the ground but then turned around, drove forward, and parked before getting out of the car. He reappears on screen several times but never provides assistance to Zimmerman. Eventually, he is led off-screen by a girl in scrubs, presumably a staff member at an abortion facility.
The owner of the facility accuses the pro-lifers of terrorism
Files given to prosecutors for their investigation include two e-mails from the owner of the abortion facility, Vicki Moore. In the emails, he claims that Zimmerman intentionally ran in front of Roummel as an act of terrorism. The first e-mail reads:
Congratulations to Det. Severs, I want to get this statement from the guard because he is always there for this. I will take other staff members’ account of what has been going on regularly for the past 40 years. The FACE act is also being looked at. As I told Dr Rommel [sic] also obtain legal counsel on harassment and safety of these actions through ant-choice [sic] regime. For me I have been a witness since we moved in the 80’s. They are trying to stop my car and there are people on each side if [sic] the driveway and on the street with signs. They move away when they see I won’t stop, because I have the right to enter the driveway to protect my car from the rd. and do business.
In a second e-mail, Moore went into more detail about how he believed Zimmerman wanted to scare Roummel by diving in front of his car, and outright called Zimmerman a terrorist. He claims to have “endured constant harassment from this group that includes Mark…” and accused Zimmerman and other pro-life sidewalk counselors of being “threatening,” saying they were “waiting” for a car to pull up in the driveway. He continued:
It’s an element of surprise. When they stand in the middle of the driveway … it stops and blocks any vehicle from entering and sometimes they try to stop vehicles from exiting … How do they get away with this activity when we are in our legal building doing legal business in America….
Moore continued, “We are afraid to stop because we know our lives may be in danger… WE ARE VICTIMS of a long-standing action against all who try to enter. Something must be done to protect us.”
This account seems inconsistent with what is seen in the video, especially considering Roummel did not run away or immediately flee inside the abortion facility to get away from the allegedly threatening pro-lifers. He remained outside, and according to witnesses, laughing at Zimmerman as he lay wounded on the ground. Roummel also didn’t call 911 — not to get help for Zimmerman or to seek police protection for himself.
READ: FBI director: 70% of abortion-related threats and violence are against pro-lifers
“When Roummel hit Mark, the security guard… sat there,” Mills said. “Didn’t run to help him. Roummel also does not provide relief to the injured party. Doesn’t he have a certain level of responsibility to go and lend a helping hand, oversee something?”
Mills also explained that Zimmerman’s position in the driveway was not to specifically antagonize Roummel but to be available in case a woman approached with an abortion in mind.
“We go to different abortion facilities, and you’re always going back and forth, you’re always maneuvering near the passageways — that’s how you talk to people,” she said. “…Unless you’re going to kill yourself, you’re not going to throw yourself out on the road.”
Additionally, Moore originally told investigators that he did not know the password to his security camera. “In the video, you can see that, yes, Mark was there,” Mills said. “But don’t you think it’s interesting that Vicki Moore doesn’t know the password to her own video camera?”
Moore also told investigators that he is cooperating with the Department of Justice and the FBI to prosecute Zimmerman for violating the FACE (Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances) Act.
Although an arrest warrant has been issued, Roummel does not appear to have been arrested. Mills noted that in the previous attack against him, he was allowed to turn himself in for arrest, which he did two months later — a far cry from recent law enforcement raids on the homes of pro-lifers accused of violating the FACE Act.
