Anti-abortion group member at UNC attacked; 2 facing charges

Tuesday, June 4, 2019
Anti-abortion group at UNC attacked; 2 facing charges
Anti-abortion group at UNC attacked; 2 facing chargesA member of the anti-abortion group Created Equal was attacked on the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill in early April.

It's a video that has garnered hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube.

A member of the anti-abortion group Created Equal was attacked on the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill in early April.

The video, which YouTube listed as "inappropriate for some users," requires a login on the social media site to view.

In the video, Austin Biegel, an outreach member for Created Equal, can be heard talking about the weather when a woman approached him asking if he was responsible for the signs. "Yes," he responded.

Then, the woman can be seen attacking Biegel and utilizing foul language.

"What you see is what you get. She asked if I put the sign up and I said 'yes'", Biegel said.

Biegal said the group, based out of Ohio, waited to post the video to make sure charges were filed.

"I didn't say anything to provoke her. She saw the images of pre-born and aborted fetus and was angry about the whole thing," he said.

The woman in the video, according to a UNC police report, is 19-year-old Jillian Ward.

Ward is now facing assault charges.

This is not the only altercation the group has faced while on campus. A few days later, they said they captured a woman on video attempting to steal one of their signs.

"Ma'am, you're about to walk right into a police officer," one of the Created Equal members warned.

A police report listed 18-year-old Samantha Tennant, a student at UNC, as the offender. Tennant is now facing larceny charges.

Tennant is heard on the video saying "Do you see us being subjected to this?"

"Okay, well this is a public display," the officer responded. "They have the right to be here. If you don't like their speech, you can go away. You don't have to watch it."

The signs the group displays are often graphic photos of aborted fetuses.

When asked why the groups opts for this type of imagery, Biegel said, "We have seen victim imagery used all throughout the past. This is a common thing we do in the face of injustice. We saw it in the civil rights movement. We saw it in the Holocaust."

We reached out to UNC regarding their policy on groups like Created Equal and their use of the campus.

UNC responded saying, "The university is a public university and therefore outside groups may assemble on campus under the First Amendment, the North Carolina Restore and Preserve Free Speech Act and the Board of Governors policy on free speech and free expression."

UNC referred ABC11 to their Facilities Use Policy.

The university also said that the signs utilized on campus by the group were allowed and did not require a permit.

ABC11 reached out to both Ward and Tennant.

One woman declined an interview, while the other did not return our call.

Copyright © 2024 WTVD-TV. All Rights Reserved.