COLUMBIA, S.C. — An anti-abortion group founder and activist has asked a judge to dismiss charges connected to a shooting at a Columbia Planned Parenthood clinic last November, according to court documents.

On Jan. 12, attorneys for Mark Baumgartner filed a motion to dismiss charges against their client based on South Carolina’s “Stand Your Ground” law, as first reported by The Post and Courier, and according to court filings.

Baumgartner, who is the founder of A Moment of Hope — an anti-abortion group whose mission is to protest abortions outside the Columbia Planned Parenthood clinic — was arrested on Nov. 25, 2025, after he shot a man, who confronted him, in the abdomen on Nov. 14, 2025, according to an arrest warrant.

He was charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature and possession of a weapon during a violent crime.

The shooting took place after Baumgartner was involved in a verbal and physical altercation with the man, according to police incident reports and a video showed Baumgartner pepper spraying the man before shooting him.

Attorneys Jim Griffin and Margaret Fox argue Baumgartner had a right to defend himself following the altercation, where Baumgartner stepped backward during the encounter in an effort to create distance between himself and the unidentified man, according to the motion to dismiss.

Moreover, after pepper spraying the man, Baumgartner attempted to retreat by running “some 40 yards to escape from this individual. The individual caught up to (Baumgartner), tackled him and a physical struggle ensued, during which (Baumgartner) was struck repeatedly in the head,” the motion said.

Two other members of A Moment of Hope rushed to Baumgartner’s aid, including a woman holding a gun. The video shows that as the victim breaks free and takes another swing at Baumgartner, the anti-abortion activist shoots him.

Under South Carolina’s “Stand Your Ground” law, a person is allowed to meet force with force, including deadly force, if the person asserting the defense is in a place they have a right to be, not engaged in unlawful activity and believes the level of force is necessary to prevent death or great bodily injury to himself or another person or to prevent the commission of a violent crime.

Griffin and Fox argue that not only does Baumgartner satisfy the elements of “Stand Your Ground,” but the shooting only resulted after the shooting victim approached him and continued advancing toward him.

An immunity hearing for Baumgartner has not yet been set, according to court records.

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