Man accused of plot to kill Missoula doctor for providing abortions

A Montana man admitted to law enforcement he planned to shoot and kill a Missoula doctor for providing abortions, but stopped just short of pulling the trigger, according to charges filed in Missoula County last week.

Charles Felix Jones, 20, faces three felonies and one misdemeanor for allegedly breaking into the backyard of the doctor's home with a firearm and later throwing the gun into the back window of the home on March 8. He appeared in front of Missoula District Court Judge Jason Marks on March 16.

Jones told detectives he targeted the man because he provided abortions. He also admitted to shooting the front door of a Helena abortion clinic in 2023, a case in which no suspect had previously been identified.

"By his own admission, defendant has planned and taken concrete steps to implement multiple homicidal/terroristic acts," Missoula County Attorneys Andrew Jenks and Mac Bloom wrote in the charging documents.

Jones is a former resident of Manhattan, Montana, who moved to Anaconda approximately eight months ago, according to the charging documents.

Prosecutors allege Jones developed a strong pro-life ideology several years ago, including praising men known for killing doctors who provided abortions and bombing abortion clinics in the 1990s.

"Defendant felt the modern pro-life movement was 'just pathetic and was not accomplishing anything,'" the prosecutors wrote.

Jones told detectives he was inspired by Luigi Mangione, who faces federal terrorism charges in the death of United Health Care CEO Brian Thompson.

Jones said while he disagreed with Mangione politically, he said he supported the idea of making people more open to "violence."

According to the charging documents, Jones arrived in Missoula on March 8 to take part in a pro-life protest outside of Blue Mountain Clinic, which provides abortions, and said he planned to return to Anaconda the next day.

At around 6 p.m., Jones told detectives he remembered identifying the address of a prominent Montana abortion doctor through internet research. He visited the house multiple times that evening, the documents allege.

While the doctor and his wife ate dinner, Jones said he watched from a neighbor's yard. At around 8 p.m., he said he opened the back gate into the couple's backyard, armed with a .327 six-shot revolver.

He told detectives he planned to shoot the doctor, but as he climbed up the back porch, he decided not to shoot the weapon. Instead, he threw the gun into the couple's sliding glass window.

"When asked what specifically stopped defendant from shooting (the doctor), defendant thought it might have been 'cowardice,' mercy, or something greater," the prosecutors wrote.

Jones then fled the scene before law enforcement could arrive. He told detectives he drove back to Anaconda that evening, and turned himself in to the Anaconda Police Department the next day.

Charging documents said Jones told detectives he purposefully left his phone and wallet at the scene in Missoula to incriminate himself. He told detectives he was diagnosed with "autistic psychosis."

The October 2023 Helena Planned Parenthood shooting Jones also admitted to happened when the office was closed and no injuries were reported.

At the time of the shooting, Helena Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation sought information on a suspect, but no arrests were made. Jones would have been 17 years old.

No charges had been filed in relation to the 2023 Helena case as of Tuesday morning.

Jones also said he made plans to bomb an abortion clinic in Whitefish in 2024 and sought to kill the CEO of Planned Parenthood, according to the charging documents.

Jones was charged with two counts of assault with a weapon, a felony, one count of intimidation, a felony, and a misdemeanor for criminal trespass to property.

If found guilty, Jones could face up to 60 years in the Montana State Prison and a $150,000 fine.