Robert Lewis Dear in court on December 9, 2015Andy Cross/The Denver Post/AP
Before he was formally charged with first-degree murder in court, Robert Lewis Dear—who is accused of killing three people and injuring nine others in a shooting at a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood clinic last month—began yelling.
“I am a warrior for the babies,” he shouted, according to the New York Times.
He also yelled, “I am guilty. There will be no trial,” and “Seal the truth, kill the babies. That’s what Planned Parenthood does,” according to Rick Sallinger, a reporter with CBS4 news in Denver who was in the courtroom.
These outbursts could be an indication of Dear’s motives for the clinic attack.
Law enforcement officials in Colorado Springs have been hesitant to talk publicly about what may have spurred Dear to act. Several media interviews with people who know Dear have revealed that Dear passionately opposed abortion. After he was arrested, he reportedly told the police, “no more baby parts.” Also, one of Dear’s ex-wives said he had vandalized a South Carolina abortion clinic years ago by putting glue in the locks on its doors.
