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Man Accused Of Threatening To Bomb Planned Parenthood Sues The Abortion Group

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Grace Carr Reporter
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A man who was wrongly accused of threatening to bomb a Planned Parenthood clinic in Missouri sued the abortion group Thursday.

John Ryan filed a lawsuit against Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri for falsely accusing him of making a terrorist threat against the abortion organization.

“I lived with the public label ‘terrorist’ for 18 months before the city finally gave me my day in court and I was completely vindicated,” Ryan said, according to a Thursday press release from the Thomas More Society. “That is permanently imprinted on the internet forever,” Ryan added.

The lawsuit comes after Planned Parenthood employee Casey Spiegel told authorities Ryan had threatened her as she approached the clinic on Dec. 31, 2016. She alleged that he told her there were seven bombs inside the building. Police arrested Ryan and held him for 35 hours before releasing him on bond.

The video of Ryan and Spiegel’s encounter show Spiegel displaying no reaction when she alleges Ryan told her there were bombs in the building.

After Spiegel’s allegations, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner filed felony charges against Ryan, accusing him of making terrorist threats. A St. Louis grand jury refused to indict him. It wasn’t until almost 18 months later that a Missouri state court acquitted Ryan. (RELATED: Alabama Pro-Life Sidewalk Counselor Wins Case After Getting Thrown In Cuffs)

The impending charges “succeeded in muzzling John and depriving him of his First Amendment rights to use the public sidewalk to voice his pro-life message,” Thomas More Society attorney Sarah Pitlyk said, according to the press release.

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