SANTA ANA, CA– A 23-year-old active duty U.S. Marine has been arrested for allegedly throwing an incendiary device at a Planned Parenthood clinic.
The incident occurred in the early morning hours of March 13, 2022, at the Costa Mesa health center/Planned Parenthood clinic in California.
Officials say Chance Brannon, a Marine Corporal stationed at Camp Pendleton in San Diego, and 21-year-old Tibet Ergul drove to the health center in Brannon’s vehicle and threw a Molotov cocktail at the clinic entrance.
The Costa Mesa Police Department and Fire Department responded to the scene and extinguished the fire.
The incident caused severe damage to the building and caused the medical center to cancel 30 appointments that were scheduled for the following day.
Authorities say they were able to identify Ergul and Brannon as the suspects after receiving a tip from a witness who stated that Ergul admitted to the bombing in a text message and showed them pictures of the device.
The photo showed Brannon driving to the location while Ergul sat in the passenger seat with the explosive in his hands.
“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 United States 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.”
“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 joint investigation among local and federal law enforcement led to today’s arrests and we will continue to work collaboratively with our partners to hold accountable those who deliberately endanger the community.”
Both Brannon and Ergul are facing charges of using an explosive or fire to damage real property affecting interstate commerce.
The charge carries a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.
Both defendants are scheduled to be arraigned on July 24.