VIENNA (LifeSiteNews) — A fake bomb was placed at a Catholic Church ahead of the March for Life in Vienna in an attempt to scare pro-lifers.

On October 4, ahead of the March for Life in the Austrian capital, a Catholic Mass for the unborn was celebrated by Bishop Klaus Küng in the Karlskirche, one of Vienna’s most prominent churches.

Two devices were found by the faithful that were meant to look and sound like explosives. One was an alarm clock making a loud ticking noise inside a bag, and another was a bag with a flashing light on it.

Special police forces arrived to secure and examine the suspicious objects and to give the all-clear. An investigation into the perpetrators is ongoing. Officials from the Directorate for State Security and Intelligence (DSN) believe that the action was intended to cause mass panic.

The organizers of the March for Life have said that this was likely done by far-left Antifa groups, who organize counter-protests to the march every year and have frequently sent threats of violence to the pro-lifers.

“The terrorist Antifa with its threats of violence and fake bombs do not scare us, but they do illustrate an ugly escalation,” said Felicitas Trachta, chair of the March for Life Austria. “While the pro-life activists were willing to engage in dialogue, friendly and openly expressing their position on the streets, left-wing extremists are becoming uglier and more extremist. We are countering this with even greater determination, our joie de vivre, and our will to change.”

A far-left group had posted a picture of the burning Karlskirche on Instagram ahead of the march with the caption: “Give the fundamentalists hell!”

As the Austrian news outlet Exxpress reported, far-left extremists wrote a death threat in chalk near the Karlskirche that read: “1. Kirk 2. You.”

This was an apparent reference to the assassination of Charlie Kirk, who was known for expressing his pro-life views, and a threat that pro-lifers who attend the march would be next.

Jan Ledóchowski, a politician for the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) and chairman of the reporting center for the protection of Christians, commented on the fake bomb threat: “We strongly condemn this attempt to intimidate innocent people and disrupt the right to freedom of assembly. The discovery of this fake bomb marks a new, frightening escalation in hostility toward Christians. I am truly concerned about what might follow next.”

During the march, members of Antifa accompanied to the pro-lifers with anti-Christian and blasphemous chants and lyrics. Many of the far-left protesters wore masks and were dressed in black, and some wore devil-like horns and costumes. The March for Life was protected by a strong police presence.

The federal spokeswoman for the Freedom Party (FPÖ), Lisa Schuch-Gubik, said: “The incidents surrounding a church service for unborn life in the run-up to the ‘March for Life’ are an attack on religious freedom and on people who peacefully campaign for life.”

“While numerous people and families were praying for the protection of life in St. Charles’ Church, this service was apparently deliberately threatened and disrupted. This shows how much anti-Christian hostility is already spreading in our country,” she continued.

“We must not tolerate this hatred of Christians in Austria!” she charged.

According to the organizers, around 3.000 participants took part in the March for Life on October 4, including several politicians from the ÖVP and FPÖ, as well as Catholic bishops Klaus Küng, Stephan Turnovsky, and Franz Scharl.