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Two men, including a U.S. Marine, were arrested Wednesday and charged with firebombing a Southern California Planned Parenthood clinic in 2022, officials said.
Tibet Ergul, 21, and Chance Brannon, 23, who is an active duty Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton, were arrested and charged with using an explosive or fire to damage real property affecting interstate commerce. They are expected in court Wednesday afternoon, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
Ergul and Brannon went to a Costa Mesa, California, Planned Parenthood clinic and threw a lit Molotov cocktail at the entrance of the building in the early morning hours of March 13, 2022, setting a fire, according to a criminal complaint provided to USA TODAY by the U.S. Attorney’s Office that was filed this week.
The fire forced the Planned Parenthood location to close and cancel dozens of appointments, the criminal complaint says.
“While it is fortunate that no one was physically harmed and responders were able to prevent the clinic from being destroyed, the defendants’ violent actions are entirely unacceptable,” United States Attorney Martin Estrada said in a news release.
Defendant bragged about fire
Security camera footage showed two people dressed in dark clothing, facial coverings and gloves surveilling the Planned Parenthood in Costa Mesa, a city of about 110,000 residents in Orange County, for several minutes before approaching the entrance. They lit the Molotov cocktail and one of them threw it at the front door.
“The device landed against a southern wall next to the glass door and erupted into a fire, which spread up the wall and across the ceiling above the glass door,” the complaint says. The firebomb caused damage to the front of the building and entryway, which was estimated to cost over $1,000 to repair.
Ergul and Brannon then ran away from the clinic. Police and firefighters responded and put out the fire, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Authorities searched for months for the suspects and offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. An unidentified witness, who claimed to be friends with Ergul and Brannon from high school, came forward in April claiming to know who started the fire, the criminal complaint says.
Ergul boasted about setting the fire, the complaint says, and texted the witness the next day to say he wished he “could’ve recorded the combustion” with a photo of his gloved hand holding the Molotov cocktail inside Brannon’s car.
Ergul and Brannon face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Kate Corrigan, an attorney representing Brannon, issued a brief statement, saying, “At this time, we are early in the proceedings. There will not be a guilty plea today . . . I will be receiving the discovery in the case in the near future There is a lot of work ahead of me on this case. I have no further comment at this time.”
An attorney for Ergul did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday afternoon.
Abortion providers targets of violent attacks nationwide
Federal authorities have been investigating a growing number of violent attacks on abortion providers and other reproductive health facilities. In January, the FBI asked for the public’s help in investigating a spate of unsolved attacks nationwide, including other firebombings.
Tyler W. Massengill pleaded guilty to setting fire with a Molotov cocktail to a central Illinois Planned Parenthood clinic earlier this year. He initially denied the attack but later told investigators it was “all worth it,” officials said.
Arsons, burglaries and death threats on clinics increased significantly in 2022, according to a National Abortion Federation report released earlier this year, with advocates sounding an alarm about escalating violence since the overturning of the constitutional right to an abortion.
READ MORE:Violence against abortion clinics escalated since overturning of Roe v. Wade, report finds
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