Donald Spitz is an

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...

Christian terrorist Christian terrorism, a form of religious terrorism, comprises terrorist acts which are committed by groups or individuals who profess Christian motivations or goals. Christian terrorists justify their violent tactics through their interpretat ...

in the United States. He lives in

Chesapeake, Virginia Chesapeake is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,422, it is the second-most populous independent city in Virginia, tenth-largest in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 90th ...

, where he runs the websites of and is a spokesperson for Army of God, an anti-abortion Christian terrorist organization that has been identified as an active underground terrorist organization by the

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

and

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...

's joint Terrorism Knowledge Base.

Biography

Spitz is a first-generation

Italian American Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, ...

whose family immigrated from

Sant'Elia Fiumerapido Sant'Elia Fiumerapido is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Frosinone, in the Latin Valley, in the Lazio region of central Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Souther ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and settled in

Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Spitz was born in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

, into a military family. He joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

at 18 and served for two years during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. In the early 1980s, Spitz moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where he ran a street

evangelism In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are i ...

ministry in

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

. Spitz was ordained in Manhattan by evangelist Leander Bolhoarst into the

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

International Gospel Crusade. In 1993, Spitz moved to

where he formed Operation Rescue ChesapeakeExtremist groups: information for students, Volume 1 – Thomson/Gale, 2006 then Pro-Life Virginia. He currently operates Army of God's website.

Activity

Spitz was "best friends" with

Paul Jennings Hill Paul Jennings Hill (February 6, 1954 – September 3, 2003) was an American minister and anti-abortion terrorist who murdered physician John Britton and Britton's bodyguard, retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel James Barrett, in 1994. Hill was ...

until Hill, who murdered physician John Britton and retired

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

(and Britton's bodyguard) James Barrett, was executed. Spitz was Hill's spiritual adviser during the last week of his life and was with Hill when he was executed. Spitz was one of the 29 signers of the Defensive Action Statement, which he posted on Army of God's website. The Defensive Action Statement argued that the murders Hill committed were justified to protect unborn children. Spitz was ordered to appear before two separate

grand juries A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential crime, criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or ...

. The grand juries were held in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...

and, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

during separate investigations into Hill and

Clayton Waagner Clayton Lee Waagner (born August 25, 1956) is a convicted bank robber and anti-abortion terrorist. He was born Roger Waagner in North Dakota. He was an escaped fugitive during the spring, summer and fall of 2001 and was the FBI's 467th fugitiv ...

, a man who sent hundreds of

anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium ''Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The sk ...

scare letters to abortion providers in 2001. After

John Salvi John C. Salvi III (March 2, 1972 – November 29, 1996) was an anti-abortion extremist who carried out fatal shootings at two abortion facilities in Brookline, Massachusetts on December 30, 1994. The shootings killed two and wounded five. An in ...

attacked two reproductive health clinics in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, he drove to

where Spitz lived at the time. It was reported by ''

the Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'', that at the time of his arrest in Norfolk, Salvi had Spitz's name and unlisted phone number in his possession. Spitz held a

prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified a ...

vigil A vigil, from the Latin ''vigilia'' meaning ''wakefulness'' (Greek: ''pannychis'', or ''agrypnia'' ), is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance. The Italian word ''vigilia'' has become genera ...

outside Salvi's jail cell. Spitz was so outspoken in defense of Salvi, that he was asked not to come to Massachusetts for Salvi’s trial and he would be unwelcome if he did. Spitz was ejected from Operation Rescue. He formed Operation Rescue Chesapeake, but after a year and a half, when Flip Benham took control of the national organization, Spitz was ordered to separate himself and his organization from the Operation Rescue name because of his support and friendship with Hill. Spitz changed the name of his organization from Operation Rescue Chesapeake to Pro-Life Virginia. Spitz gained attention in 2001 with his support for Waagner, who was one of the

FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives The FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives is a most wanted list maintained by the United States's Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The list arose from a conversation held in late 1949 between J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the FBI, and William K ...

, who sent hundreds of anthrax letters to

abortion clinic Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregnan ...

s throughout the United States. Spitz was also suspected of harboring Waagner and receiving phone calls from him while Waagner was a fugitive. In response to the 1998 shooting death of

Barnett Slepian Barnett Abba Slepian (April 23, 1946 – October 23, 1998) was an American physician and abortion provider who was assassinated in his home by James Charles Kopp, a militant member of the US anti-abortion movement. Life and career Slepian was b ...

, Spitz said: "What would I say to the family of Slepian? They live in a $500,000 house that was paid for with blood money – the blood of those babies that Barnett Slepian murdered... He knew what he was doing, he was murdering children. That's too bad if he was killed in front of his family..." Spitz has been watched by the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

(FBI) for over 20 years. In 1994, the FBI suspected that he and other anti-abortion figures might be developing "a conspiracy that endeavors to achieve political or social change through activities that involve force or violence." Spitz has published prison writings of fellow extremists including Hill, Waagner,

Eric Rudolph Eric Robert Rudolph (born September 19, 1966), also known as the Olympic Park Bomber, is an American domestic terrorist convicted for a series of bombings across the southern United States between 1996 and 1998, which killed two people and injur ...

Shelley Shannon Rachelle Ranae "Shelley" Shannon (born March 31, 1956) is an American anti-abortion extremist who was convicted in a Kansas state court for the attempted murder of George Tiller by shooting him in his car in Wichita, Kansas in 1993.Phillips, Don ...

, and

Michael Bray Reverend Michael Bray is an American Lutheran minister who was convicted in 1985, along with two other defendants of two counts of conspiracy and one count of possessing unregistered explosive devices in relation to seven bombings of women's h ...

, on Army of God's website. Spitz was in constant contact with

Scott Roeder On May 31, 2009, George Tiller, a physician from Wichita, Kansas, who was nationally known for being one of the few doctors in the United States to perform late terminations of pregnancy (also known as "late-term abortions"), was murdered by Sc ...

while he was awaiting trial for

the murder "The Murder" is a cinematic score written and composed by Bernard Herrmann for the horror- thriller film '' Psycho'' (1960) directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The score, its second movement in particular, is well recognized as one of the most famous ...

George Tiller George Richard Tiller (August 8, 1941 – May 31, 2009) was an American physician from Wichita, Kansas. He gained national attention as the medical director of Women's Health Care Services, which was one of only three abortion clinics nationwide ...

, an anti-abortion extremist, made her first phone call when she was released from federal prison to Spitz. It is reported they had been in close contact the whole time of Shannon's incarceration.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spitz, Donald Christians from Virginia Living people Army of God (United States) People from Norfolk, Virginia American anti-abortion activists Year of birth missing (living people) American people of Italian descent Far-right terrorism Christian terrorism in the United States United States Navy personnel of the Vietnam War