Pro-abortionists threaten and commit violence toward Republican candidate

Article - 5 minute read

Updated July 13, 2022

On Saturday, July 9, Republican candidate for Douglas County commissioner district 1 Dr. Justin Spiehs went out to a pro-abortion march on Massachusetts St in Lawrence. Dr. Spiehs stood opposite the Courthouse on 11th and Massachusetts St where the rally had started.

“Me and one of my friends, it was only the two of us, we set up here in front of Sylas and Maddy’s across the street,” Dr. Spiehs said. “Everyone is saying stuff to each other and after a bit of time, a small group of them come over and start standing around me and my friend, which they do all the time. When we go to these things, they stand around us and they get real close and they just chant and yell, which is whatever. They never do it alone. They always wait for a group. There’s never a brave one that dares come out to do it themselves, and I make sure to tell them that.”

After the intimidation attempt, the group marched down Massachusetts St. It was at this time Dr. Spiehs and his friend, Nicole Presoicka, walked across Massachusetts St to the side of the Courthouse to “welcome” the group on their march back. Dr. Spiehs said that as the group came back, they were saying stuff to each other, but that he never interacted with the woman who took her sign and hit him.

“She comes walking by, it’s her and a group of her friends,” Dr. Spiehs explained. “She’s like a middle-aged White lady. Blonde hair, kind of looks like a stereotypical mom. But she’s got her sign, I don’t know what it’s made of, but as she’s walking by, she holds it like this and hits me across here. The blow lands on my shoulder, luckily it didn’t hit my head or anything. So, immediately, I call 9-1-1.”

Dr. Spiehs said her and her friends were laughing about the crime until she realized Dr. Spiehs was on the phone with the police. It was at this point Dr. Spiehs believed the woman was about to leave.

“That’s the thing that I’ve noticed about these libs,” Dr. Spiehs said. “This isn’t the first time that has happened. At the other rally, they would come up to me, and two times they came up to me—two separate times, two separate people—they would grab my sign and take it from me, thinking that’s not illegal, fine to do, I don’t know. When you say you can’t do that shit, they go, ‘I didn’t do it,’ they realize the seriousness of it after the fact that they do it.”

As Dr. Spiehs was on the phone with dispatch, he borrowed Presoicka’s phone to take pictures of the woman who hit him, believing she was about to take off. He said she started hiding as he took pictures. As the woman started to leave, Dr. Spiehs and his friends (now joined by Amy Baughman) start crossing the crosswalk on Massachusetts St. At this time, the responding officer, Officer Marcinko, pulls out of the Courthouse parking lot, meeting Dr. Spiehs and his friends in the middle of the street. Dr. Spiehs pointed the woman, who was now leaving, out and Officer Marcinko went and stopped her.

A second officer pulled up soon after, talking to Dr. Spiehs while the other officer spoke to the perpetrator. A while later, Dr. Spiehs saw the woman and her friends walking down the street when Officer Marcinko pulls up to them and stops them again. Having to deal with subpar policing in Lawrence in the past, Dr. Spiehs begins yelling at the officer about what he is doing.

As it turned out, video of the crime had been captured by a street camera, and police were waiting to review the footage. Eventually, Dr. Spiehs saw the officer write the woman a ticket for her crime before walking to him with his ticket book in hand. Dr. Spiehs believed he was about to be charged again as he had been in the past by LPD after being threatened. However, this was not the case. Instead, the officer informed Dr. Spiehs that probable cause existed that a battery was committed and issued a Notice To Appear for Battery. Dr. Spiehs said he was surprised this happened and was happy as “it was the first time Lawrence Police did their job” when working with him. Though, Dr. Spiehs admits the camera was probably of great help.

Dr. Spiehs said the officer told him he was aware of what happened with the gun incident being pulled on him and how that was handled, and that’s the reason why he tried to get things under control, and he didn’t want the two parties mixed together. Dr. Spiehs said he understood that but was worried of how the situation would go down. However, the officer was making sure this situation was handled in the right way which Dr. Spiehs said he greatly appreciated.

Dr. Spiehs was also relayed information that founder of The Lawrence Times Mackenzie Clark was aware of the pro-abortion activist being charged for battery. The Lawrence Times did not cover it in their article on the pro-abortion march. This is important to note as Clark said in a tweet, “I just hope this community knows that at @LawrenceKSTimes, we don’t leave out half the facts just because it’s convenient for us.”

August Rudisell, who does photography for The Lawrence Times, was found to purposefully be leaving Dr. Spiehs out of the footage and photography.

This all comes after a previous death threat the Republican candidate received by a pro-abortion woman on Friday, June 24, also in Lawrence. Dr. Spiehs had been sitting on the corner of 6th St and Kasold with his friend, Sue Herynk. The two held pro-life signs when the woman drove by, flipping them off. She then pulled into a nearby gas station. Minutes later, the woman pulled up to Dr. Spiehs and Herynk and began yelling at them. Dr. Spiehs kept asking the woman, “What is that sir?” According to Dr. Spiehs, the woman responded by threatening his life, but his friend, Herynk, who was witness to the crime, believes the woman had threatened both of their lives before driving off after Dr. Spiehs pulled out his phone to film her. The responding officer was Detective Verbanic and an Affidavit has been sent to the DA’s Office for review and possible charging.