Quick Facts
Biography
Michael Bray is an American Lutheran minister who was convicted in 1985 of two counts of conspiracy and one count of possessing unregistered explosive devices in relation to ten bombings of women's health clinics and offices of liberal advocacy groups in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia. He is considered "the intellectual father of the extreme radical fringe of the antiabortion movement which engages in terrorism."Initially sentenced to ten years in prison, he agreed to a plea bargain and served 46 months from 1985 to 1989.
He and his wife, Jayne, are named defendants in the Supreme Court decision Bray v. Alexandria. He is considered to be a terrorist by the National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism.
In 1994, the F.B.I. 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", as stated in a confidential Teletype message sent to all 56 F.B.I. field offices.
Background
Michael Bray attended the United States Naval Academy for one year as a Midshipman. He was based in Bowie, Maryland, and later moved to Wilmington, Ohio, where he professes to be a member of the Army of God, considered a terrorist organization by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation. Bray's writings can be found on theArmy of God website.
- Bray, Michael (1994), A TIME TO KILL: A Study Concerning the Use of Force and Abortion, Portland, Oregon: Advocates for Life Publications