Man says Jesus told him to drive car into Planned Parenthood

ST. PAUL -- A Cottage Grove man who purposely rammed his vehicle into the front door of Planned Parenthood told police Jesus told him to do it.

The incident happened at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday in St. Paul when 32-year-old Matthew Lee Derosia drove his SUV into the front door of the Planned Parenthood located at 1965 Ford Parkway in St. Paul.

Derosia was been charged on Friday with two felony counts of criminal damage to property.

According to the criminal complaint, officers found Derosia next to his vehicle in front of the Planned Parenthood holding a crucifix and shouting various Bible verses.

Derosia continued to ignore police and shouted, "Close down the Auschwitz death camp."

Once taken into custody, Derosia told police he took his mom's boyfriend's truck and planned to drive the truck into Planned Parenthood doors because the Lord told him to do it. He also felt that he wasn't doing enough protesting.

One employee was at the front desk six to eight feet from the door. Most of the staff was in the building preparing to open for the day. No one was injured.

"There was some damage that occurred on the outside of the clinic. He jumped out and apparently began waving a crucifix and was immediately arrested," Sarah Stoesz, Planned Parenthood CEO and President said.

Planned Parenthood showed a KARE11 crew surveillance tape of the incident. They could not release it due to the ongoing investigation.

The tape shows the man driving his SUV down the sidewalk and clipping a retaining wall before steering into the front door of the clinic. He then backed up, and rammed it two more times before getting out of the SUV. He surrendered to police when they arrived.

"It was a shock to see it this morning when I got there, that somebody had done this," Pro-Life Action Ministries Executive Director Brian Gibson said. Gibson said several people were scheduled to be on that very sidewalk at 8:30 a.m. for a vigil to mark Roe vs. Wade.

"Not only do we not like this happening, we condemn this type of act. We're against all violence," Gibson added. His group did hold the vigil after police cleared the scene.

KARE 11 crews on the scene said the damage to the building is minimal. Police estimated the damage to be between $2,500 to $5,000.

Stoesz says she is saddened by the incident, and adds that nothing like it has ever happened at the clinic on Ford Parkway. While that clinic is the only one in the Metro area that performs abortions, Stoesz insists that only 5 percent of its patients actually are there for an abortion. "I'm just very sorry that certain people chose to act in such a way that attempts to disrupt health care for women," she said.

Tim Stanley, executive director of Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, said patients were still being seen at the clinic on Thursday.

Thursday marked the 36-year anniversary of Roe v. Wade. The Roe decision said that most laws against abortion in the U.S. violated constitutional rights to privacy.

By Scott Seroka, KARE 11 News Read Scott's Blog

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