UNITED STATES NEWS

A woman accused of burning a Wyoming abortion clinic has reached a plea agreement with prosecutors

Jul 10, 2023, 4:19 PM | Updated: 5:14 pm

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A college student who authorities say admitted setting fire to a building slated to become Wyoming’s only full-service abortion clinic has reached a plea agreement with prosecutors, federal court documents showed Monday.

Details of the proposed plea deal for Lorna Roxanne Green weren’t available to the public pending a judge’s approval of the agreement.

Green, 22, pleaded not guilty to an arson charge in U.S. District Court in Cheyenne in June. Green faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The plea agreement means Green could avoid going to trial, set for July 24.

Reached by phone, Green’s attorney, Ryan Semerad, declined to comment on the plea agreement. Federal prosecutors did not immediately return an email message seeking comment Monday.

Green told investigators she opposed abortion and was experiencing anxiety and having nightmares over the Wellspring Health Access clinic that was to open in Casper, Wyoming, last year, so she decided to burn it, according to court documents.

Investigators say Green broke a window at the clinic, filled aluminum baking pans with gasoline and set it ablaze on May 25, 2022. The clinic, which had drawn anti-abortion protesters, was scheduled to open a few weeks later but was not able to begin seeing patients until April because of the fire damage.

Surveillance video released by police soon after the fire showed a masked woman in a hooded shirt inside the clinic building. But Green was not arrested until March after the reward in the case was increased to $15,000 and tipsters named her as a possible suspect.

The facility is Wyoming’s only dedicated clinic in at least a decade to offer surgical abortions. It also offers abortion pills and women’s health care, the clinic says.

Before Wellspring opened, only one other clinic in Wyoming — a women’s health center in Jackson, about 250 miles (400 kilometers) away — provided medication abortions.

Abortion remains legal in conservative Wyoming although lawmakers passed a law banning abortion except in cases of rape or incest reported to police, or when the mother’s life is in danger. However, a state judge put the ban on hold while an opposing lawsuit proceeds.

Wyoming also became the first state to pass pill ban on hold before it could take effect July 1.

United States News

Associated Press

University of the People founder and Arizona State professor win Yidan Prize for education work

NEW YORK (AP) — Shai Reshef, president and founder of the online, tuition-free University of the People, and Arizona State professor and researcher Michelene Chi, who has developed a framework to improve how students learn, are the 2023 winners of The Yidan Prize, the biggest award in education. Reshef and Chi will each receive 15 […]

58 minutes ago

Associated Press

Massachusetts man stabs five officers after crashing into home following chase, police say

TAUNTON, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts man who sped away during a traffic stop led police on a chase that ended with him crashing into a home and then stabbing five officers, including the local police chief, before he was arrested, authorities said. The Taunton police officers were injured trying to take Douglas Hagerty, 35, […]

1 hour ago

Associated Press

3 dead after car being pursued by police crashes in Indianapolis minutes after police end pursuit

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Three people including a teenage boy died when a car being chased by police in Indianapolis for reckless driving collided with another vehicle only minutes after officers ended their pursuit, authorities said Wednesday. An Indiana state trooper began the pursuit Tuesday night when the driver of a Dodge Challenger fled the officer’s […]

2 hours ago

Associated Press

Man serving sentence for attacking parents fails to return to halfway house and considered escapee

MOUNT LAUEL, N.J. (AP) — A man serving a prison sentence for attacking and seriously injuring his parents more than two decades ago remains missing Wednesday, several days after he failed to return to the halfway house where he was living. Edward Berbon, 54, was assigned to a halfway house in Camden County and had […]

2 hours ago

FILE - Former President Donald Trump pauses before ending his remarks at a rally in Summerville, S....

Associated Press

A judge found Trump committed fraud in building his real-estate empire. Here’s what happens next

WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge’s ruling that Donald Trump committed fraud as he built his real-estate empire tarnishes the former president’s image as a business titan and could strip him of his authority to make major decisions about the future of his marquee properties in his home state. The Tuesday order rescinds business licenses as […]

2 hours ago

Associated Press

Montana judge blocks enforcement of law to ban gender-affirming medical care for minors

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A law to ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors in Montana is temporarily banned, a state judge ruled Tuesday, just four days before it was to take effect. District Court Judge Jason Marks agreed with transgender youth, their families and healthcare providers that a law passed by the 2023 Montana […]

3 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

...

Ignite Digital

How to unlock the power of digital marketing for Phoenix businesses

All businesses around the Valley hopes to maximize their ROI with current customers and secure a greater market share in the digital sphere.

...

re:vitalize

When most diets fail, re:vitalize makes a difference that shows

Staying healthy and losing weight are things many people in Arizona are conscious of, especially during the summer.

...

Ability360

At Ability360, every day is Independence Day

With 100 different programs and services, more than 1,500 non-medically based home care staff, a world-renowned Sports & Fitness Center and over 15,000 people with disabilities served annually, across all ages and demographics, Ability360 is a nationwide leader in the disability community.

A woman accused of burning a Wyoming abortion clinic has reached a plea agreement with prosecutors