Two men, one of them an active-duty Marine, were arrested Wednesday for allegedly firebombing a Planned Parenthood clinic in Costa Mesa, California, last year.
Chance Brannon, 23, was stationed at the nearby Camp Pendleton, according to a press release from federal prosecutors. He and his alleged accomplice, 21-year-old Tibet Ergul, were charged with using an explosive or fire to damage property and affect interstate commerce.
They are accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail at the clinic entrance early in the morning of March 13, 2022, setting fire to a wall and ceiling according to the complaint. Investigators said the burn marks covered an area three feet wide and 10 to 15 feet tall. No one was injured, but the clinic was forced to shut down the next morning and cancel about 30 appointments.
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According to the complaint, Ergul texted a friend the next day to take credit for the fire, adding that he wished he “could’ve recorded the combustion.” He allegedly included a photo of his gloved hand holding the Molotov cocktail inside Brannon’s car.
“The depraved act of launching an improvised explosive device into a public facility put lives at risk and will not be tolerated," Donald Alway, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office, said in the statement.
Ergul grew up in Turkey and moved to Southern California for high school, according to a personal website; he majored in molecular science and biotechnology at Arizona State University, according to his Linkedin page. His LinkedIn bio says he is looking for “hands-on” work in the chemical, biological, or geophysics industries, though he listed his current job as a delivery driver for SMK Logistics. His Instagram stories include several photos of him working in a lab.
Court records show Ergul was charged with aggravated assault in Maricopa County, Arizona, in 2022. The charges were suspended after he agreed to participate in a deferred prosecution program.
Brannon’s military service record was not immediately available.
Nicole Ramirez, vice president of communications for Planned Parenthood of Orange County and San Bernardino, said the clinic worked with the FBI to catch the culprits, providing footage from security cameras. She added that while no one was in the clinic when the attack occurred, “it’s intimidating and scary when you come into work and you find out that something like this has happened.”
“These patients are coming in for basic healthcare,” she added. “So to have such a violent act when people are just trying to access healthcare, it’s upsetting, to be honest.”
She added that the clinic had seen an increase in protesters since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade last June, but that this was the first incident of violence.
Violence against abortion clinics has increased significantly since fall of Roe v. Wade. A report from the National Abortion Federation found the number of clinic burglaries and stalking incidents tripled from 2021 to 2022, and the number of arson attacks doubled.
Last year, a woman allegedly entered an unopened clinic in Casper, Wyoming, poured gasoline on the floor, and set it on fire. The arson delayed the opening of the clinic by nearly a year, leaving the state without a single surgical abortion provider during that time.
