Donald Spitz is an American

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

minister and

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

extremist who serves as the spokesperson and webmaster for the 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 ...

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, home, or public security ministries in other countries. Its missions invol ...

's joint Terrorism Knowledge Base. He lives in

Chesapeake, Virginia Chesapeake is an independent city in Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,422, making it the second-most populous city in Virginia, the tenth largest in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 92nd-most populous city in the ...

, where he has been watched by the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

(FBI) for over 20 years.

Biography

Spitz is a first-generation

Italian-American Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...

whose family emigrated 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, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, We ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

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 (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

, into a military family. He joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

at 18 and served for two years during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. In the early 1980s, Spitz moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where he ran a street

evangelism Evangelism, or witnessing, is the act of sharing the Christian gospel, the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. It is typically done with the intention of converting others to Christianity. Evangelism can take several forms, such as persona ...

ministry in

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...

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

International Gospel Crusade. In 1993, Spitz moved to

where he formed Operation Rescue Chesapeake,Extremist 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, religious extremist, and anti-abortion terrorist who murdered physician John Britton and Britton's bodyguard, retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel James Barr ...

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 army aviati ...

Lieutenant Colonel (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 empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand ju ...

. The grand juries were held in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

and, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

during separate investigations into Hill and

Clayton Waagner Clayton Lee Waagner (born August 25, 1956) is an American 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 ...

, a man who sent hundreds of

anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis'' or ''Bacillus cereus'' biovar ''anthracis''. Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. Symptom onset occurs between one ...

scare letters to abortion providers in 2001. After

John Salvi John C. Salvi III (March 2, 1972 – November 29, 1996) was an American 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 fi ...

attacked two reproductive health clinics in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, he drove to

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

the Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'', 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 File:Prayers-collage.png, 300px, alt=Collage of various religionists praying – Clickable Image, Collage of various religionists praying ''(Clickable image – use cursor to identify.)'' rect 0 0 1000 1000 Shinto festivalgoer praying in front ...

vigil A vigil, from the Latin meaning 'wakefulness' ( Greek: , or ), is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance. The Italian word has become generalized in this sense and means 'eve' (as in "on t ...

outside Salvi's jail cell. Spitz was so outspoken in defense of Salvi, that he was asked not to come to

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, who sent hundreds of anthrax letters to

abortion clinic An abortion clinic or abortion provider is a medical facility that provides abortions. Such clinics may be public medical centers, private medical practices or nonprofit organizations such as Planned Parenthood. Statistics Canada *There were ...

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 ...

, 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

(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 of a series of bombings across the Southern United States between 1996 and 1998, which killed two people and injur ...

, Shelley Shannon, 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, an American physician from Wichita, Kansas, who was one of the few doctors in the United States to perform late terminations of pregnancy, was murdered by Scott Roeder, an anti-abortion extremist. Tiller was sh ...

while he was awaiting trial for

the murder "The Murder" is a cue in the 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 m ...

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

. Shelley Shannon, 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 United States Navy personnel of the Vietnam War