User:Juno/Melanie Maria Toney

Melanie Marie Toney is an American woman who is alleged to have thrown a molotov cocktail at a group of pro-life protesters praying in Austin, Texas.

Political activism
Toney had been a speaker at rallies at the Texas Capitol Building in opposition to Texas Senate Bill 5, a measure that banned most abortions after 20 weeks in Texas.

Attack and arrest
On March 23, 2015 a group of women from the Central Texas Coalition for Life were praying outside of the South Austin Planned Parenthood as part of the 40 Days for Life campaign. Someone drove by the group and threw an improvised incendiary device out of a vehicle window scattering the protesters. The Austin Bomb Squad was called to respond and ultimately dealt with the homemade fuel explosive device. They reported that it had not exploded because it had landed on a patch of soft grass, preventing break-up.

Someone had apparently covered the vehicle's license plate with cardboard but one of the protesters was able to follow it and relayed its location to the Austin Police Department. The police traced the license and then arrested Toney. Police stated that when they first interviewed Toney, she denied everything. Later, they say, she changed her story and admitted to throwing the bottle, and that it "might" have been lit. Court documents in the case have not specified whether she was targeting the protesters or the clinic itself. She was charged with Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon, a 2nd degree felony in the State of Texas. She was held in lieu of a $25,000 bond.