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Suspect Arrested in Kalispell Abortion Clinic Break-In

By Beacon Staff

Police have arrested a 24-year-old man suspected of vandalizing a Kalispell health-care clinic that provides abortions. Zachary Jordan Klundt of Columbia Falls was arrested Tuesday night after police responded to a different break-in on South Main Street.

Klundt is in custody at the Flathead County Detention Center for burglary and carrying a concealed weapon. According to the Kalispell Police Department, he could be charged with felony criminal mischief, attempted burglary and theft. Police said there is substantial evidence that Klundt was involved in the break-in at All Families Healthcare, a clinic that provides a wide range of family practice and reproductive services and is also the valley’s only abortion provider.

According to Susan Cahill, a physician assistant who runs the clinic, someone shattered the window in a back door and entered the clinic before causing significant damage late Monday or early Tuesday. A receptionist reported the vandalism shortly after arriving at work at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Officers found an open back door and books and equipment strewn about the building. Cahill said the clinic had just moved into the new office space in early February.

“I’m in shock and I’m angry,” she said. “People are trying to stop me from doing something that I believe is a human right and is legal.”

Shortly after 6 p.m., March 4, Kalispell police officers responded to the report of another burglary that was in progress on South Main Street. Upon arrival, Klundt was found with multiple weapons, including a concealed loaded handgun.

The Kalispell Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have been investigating the health clinic break-in.

Cahill’s clinic, in a different location in Kalispell, was the target of a firebomb on Oct. 11, 1994. The front of the building was destroyed, forcing the clinic to close for five months. Richard T. Andrews of Washington was convicted of torching seven abortion clinics in four western states, including Montana, where he burned clinics in Kalispell, Missoula and Helena.

In response to the break-in, Kalispell’s 40 Days for Life chapter, a Christian campaign against abortion, issued a press release saying it opposed what had happened. It also said it would delay its planned protest of the clinic, set to start on March 5, for a week.

“We stand in strong opposition to the vandalism incident that occurred at the All Families Healthcare location,” the press release stated. “Violence and vandalism are opposed to our belief and continued focus on a prayerful and peaceful means to oppose abortion.”