South Carolina anti-abortion group founder arrested following Planned Parenthood shooting

Ted Clifford, The State (Columbia, S.C.) on Nov 25, 2025

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COLUMBIA, S.C.— The founder of an anti-abortion group who shot and wounded a man during a confrontation in front of Planned Parenthood in Columbia has been arrested.

According to records from the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in Columbia, Mark Baumgartner was taken into custody Tuesday.

Baumgartner is being charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature and possession of a weapon during a violent crime.

Baumgartner founded the anti-abortion group A Moment of Hope over a decade ago. The organization’s primary focus is protesting the Planned Parenthood clinic in Columbia, South Carolina. There, volunteers and employees offer what they call “sidewalk counseling” to encourage women not to undergo abortions.

On Nov. 14, Baumgartner was involved in an altercation with a passerby outside the Planned Parenthood clinic on Middleburg Drive in Columbia. According to police incident reports and a video taken to a scene, Baumgartner first pepper sprayed and then shot the unnamed victim.

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