U.S. Marine arrested in firebombing of Planned Parenthood clinic in California

A U.S. Marine was arrested Wednesday alongside another suspect in connection to the firebombing of a California Planned Parenthood clinic in Costa Mesa last year, according to the Department of Justice. 

The two men have been accused of using a Molotov cocktail to commit an act of arson; the DOJ did not to disclose a potential motive for the attack.

The two suspects —Tibet Ergul, 21, and Chance Brannon, 23— were arrested on Wednesday morning without incident. Brannon is an active duty Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton, around 50 miles away from the Orange County clinic.

“My office takes very seriously this brazen attack that targeted a facility that provides critical health care services to thousands of people in Orange County,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada. “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.”

Both men have been named in a “criminal complaint that charges each with using an explosive or fire to damage real property affecting interstate commerce,” reads the news release from the DOJ. The defendants were expected to make their initial court appearances in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana on Wednesday afternoon.

According to the DOJ, the attack on March of 2022 on the Planned Parenthood clinic caused a temporary closure, which led to the cancellation of approximately 30 appointments.

“The depraved act of launching an improvised explosive device into a public facility put lives at risk and will not be tolerated,” said Donald Alway, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. 

The two men each face up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted.