An active duty Marine is facing federal charges after prosecutors allege he and an accomplice firebombed a Planned Parenthood clinic in California on March 13, 2022.
Chance Brannon, 23, was arrested Wednesday on allegations he and Tibet Ergul, 21, used a Molotov cocktail to firebomb a Planned Parenthood clinic in Costa Mesa, a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Central District of California read.
U.S. Marine, second man arrested on federal criminal complaint stemming from March 2022 firebombing of Planned Parenthood clinic in Orange County https://t.co/LEpTQrTXXf
— US Attorney L.A. (@USAO_LosAngeles) June 14, 2023
Security footage from the incident allegedly shows two men in hooded sweatshirts and face masks approach the building at approximately 1 a.m., ignite a device purported to be a Molotov cocktail and throw it against the front door of the clinic, the press release stated.
“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 criminal complaint stated, according to the press release.
The Costa Mesa Police and Fire Departments responded to the scene and successfully extinguished the subsequent blaze but not before over $1,000 in damage was done to the facility, according to NBC News. The clinic was forced to cancel approximately 30 appointments due to the damage caused by the fire, the press release noted.
A witness came forward with information regarding the incident on April 3, telling the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center they could identify the perpetrators involved. The witness, who reportedly knew the two men since high school, claimed Ergul had sent text messages admitting his involvement in the attack, according to NBC News.
The text, reportedly sent the day after the fire, included a photo of a gloved hand holding a Molotov cocktail taken inside a car believed to be Brannon’s, the outlet said. Ergul reportedly stated in the text, “he wished he could’ve recorded the combustion.” (RELATED: Man Arrested For Firebombing Police Station In Latest Attack Against Law Enforcement)
“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,” United States Attorney Martin Estrada said in the press release. “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.”
If convicted, Brannon and Ergul each face a maximum penalty of twenty years in federal prison, according to the press release.