Randall Terry - Career As Activist

Career As Activist

In 1986, Randall Terry was arrested for the first time for chaining himself to a sink at an abortion clinic. Terry was often in the news because of his activities as the leader of Operation Rescue.

Randall Terry was named as a co-defendant in the 1994 Supreme Court case, NOW v. Scheidler, a class action suit to compel pro-life leaders to compensate clinics for loss of business. Terry settled out of court with the National Organization for Women. Rather than pay the settlement, Terry promptly filed bankruptcy, prompting Senator Charles Schumer to propose an amendment to a bankruptcy bill in Congress which would "specifically ... prevent abortion opponents from using the bankruptcy code to escape paying court fines." The amendment was not included in the final bill. In 1998, NOW obtained more than 25,000 "frequent flyer miles" held by Terry in order to help satisfy a legal judgment. The long-running case was resolved on February 28, 2006, the Supreme Court voted 8-0 for Scheidler, against NOW.

In 1990, Terry helped to organize protests outside the hospital where Nancy Cruzan was a patient, around the time that her feeding tube was removed. The group Missouri Citizens for Life also was involved in the protests, along with the Rev. Patrick Mahoney, a former Operation Rescue staffer. He was also involved in protests related to the Terri Schiavo case. In 1998, Randall Terry ran for the United States House of Representatives in Upstate New York. Terry competed with radio station owner William "Bud" Walker for the Republican nomination to face Democratic incumbent Maurice Hinchey. Terry received the endorsement of Focus on the Family head James Dobson; however, national and state Republicans were not supportive of Terry's candidacy. Terry was defeated by Walker 53% to 35%, but was the Right to Life Party nominee in the general election. Terry came in third place, winning 7% of the vote, with Hinchey and Walker winning 62% and 31% respectively. In 2000, Terry and his son Jamiel promoted the candidacy of Steven Forbes in the Republican presidential primary. In June 2005, Terry announced plans to run in the primary against Florida Republican state senator James E. King, citing King's work in attempting to block legislation which would have kept Terri Schiavo alive. In August 2006, in an attempt to undermine King's support in a Republican primary the next month, Terry publicized an endorsement of King by "Bill Clinton" — actually, robo-calls by a professional impersonator of former President Bill Clinton. The two "Clinton" scripts each contained a disclaimer. One was, "Hello friend, Bill Clinton here – not really!" The other was "This is a celebrity impersonation." Terry used the scripts and the impersonator in 43,000 calls. The "no amnesty" line was a reference to immigration reform proposals which were an issue in many campaigns during 2006. On September 5, 2006, Terry was defeated in the primary, with King receiving over two-thirds of the votes cast.

On March 20, 2009, the White House announced that President Barack Obama was to speak at the May 17 Commencement of the University of Notre Dame. Terry declared that Notre Dame, being one of the foremost Catholic universities in the nation, should not have allowed Obama to speak. Terry's main objection was that Obama supports abortion. He was quoted in an article to the University's newspaper, The Observer, stating that he planned to make the commencement "a circus." Terry was arrested May 1, 2009, on the Notre Dame campus for violating a no-trespass order. He posted a bond of $250 at the St. Joseph County Jail and was released the same day, and assigned a court date later that month. In a statement given to a Christian news service, Terry claimed Notre Dame's invitation of Obama was a betrayal of Catholic teaching, comparing it to Judas' betrayal of Jesus Christ.

When Kansas obstetrician George Tiller was murdered while serving as an usher in his Wichita church on the morning of May 31, 2009, Terry immediately issued a statement critical of Tiller. On the same day, June 1, Terry released a video in which he called President Barack Obama and pro-choice politicians "child killers", and described Tiller as a "mass murderer" who "reaped what he sowed." He voiced regret that Tiller wasn't able to "get things right with his maker" and that it was unfortunate that he didn't get a "trial of a jury of his peers and to have a proper execution." Terry's comments provoked a backlash. The Albany Times-Union, in an editorial, accused Terry of undermining the credibility of the "generally peaceful" pro-life movement,.