brian sims

@LilaGraceRose / Twitter Alex Dalbey

Lawmaker tells people to dox teens protesting Planned Parenthood

Even some pro-choice people are angry with him.

 

Alex Dalbey

Layer 8

Posted on May 7, 2019   Updated on May 20, 2021, 1:10 pm CDT

Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Sims (D) is facing backlash on social media after recently offering a cash reward to people for doxing teenagers who were protesting outside of Planned Parenthood.

Sims recorded multiple confrontations with people praying and protesting outside of a Planned Parenthood clinic near Philadelphia over the last month, once with an older woman, and the other time with a woman and a group of teenagers. In both the videos he tells people to dox the protesters and expose their information to the world.

There has been intense backlash from conservatives, saying he was harassing the people simply for praying and “peacefully advocating for the lives of preborn human beings.” The outrage has snowballed into a planned pro-life rally outside of the Planned Parenthood this week.

Even some pro-choice people are disavowing Sims’ approach to dealing with Planned Parenthood protesters, saying it’s doing more harm than good.

While there are thousands of instances of anti-abortion protesters at Planned Parenthood clinics being violent and aggressive, nothing Sims recorded in either of these altercations appeared to be aggressive. Regardless of political views, offering a monetary reward for identifying peacefully protesting minors appears to be universally reviled.

Whatever point Sims was trying to make by confronting the protesters was lost in his aggressive attempt to get people online to identify and attack minors. Rather than shaming people away from protesting, Sims illuminated the clinic as a battleground, bringing a wave of new protesters who are unlikely to be as quiet as the ones he confronted before. It’s unknown how many will be coming, but according to conservative writer and self-proclaimed “theocratic fascist” Matt Walsh, “A bunch of different pro-life groups reached out” within minutes of him tweeting that they should organize “a giant pro-life rally at the abortion clinic.”

We’ve reached out to Sims’ office.

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*First Published: May 7, 2019, 11:13 am CDT