Two California men, one of them a Marine, were arrested Wednesday and accused of firebombing a Planned Parenthood clinic in Costa Mesa last year, federal authorities said.
Tibet Ergul, 21, of Irvine, and Chance Brannon, 23, of San Juan Capistrano, an active-duty Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton, are charged with using an explosive or fire to damage real property affecting interstate commerce, the U.S. attorney’s office for Central California said in a statement.
A criminal complaint alleges they ignited and threw a Molotov cocktail at the clinic’s entrance early March 13, 2022.
Damage was estimated at $1,050, and appointments for about 30 patients had to be rescheduled, the complaint says.
"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," U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in the statement. "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.”
Security videos show two people wearing hooded sweatshirts and masks approach the Planned Parenthood around 1 a.m. and throw a flaming device at the front door, federal prosecutors said.
Investigators found burn marks on the entrance door and the adjacent wall, according to the complaint. Prosecutors said an analysis showed that a glass container and other materials collected from the scene contained gasoline.
The FBI in January released a poster announcing a reward of up to $25,000 leading to the identifications, arrests and convictions of the suspects, according to the complaint.
On April 3, a witness called the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center claiming to be able to identify the people allegedly involved, according to the complaint. The witness, who said they knew the two men from high school, said Ergul sent texts admitting his involvement, the complaint says.
A day after the fire, the witness said, Ergul texted saying “he wished he 'could’ve recorded the combustion’” and sent a photo of a gloved hand holding a Molotov cocktail, according to the complaint. The photo was taken inside a car the witness believed to be Brannon’s, the complaint says.
Ergul and Brannon were expected to appear in court Wednesday, federal prosecutors said. They could not be reached for comment, and it was unclear whether they had attorneys who could speak on their behalf.
No one with Costa Mesa Planned Parenthood could immediately be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon.
The charge Ergul and Brannon face carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison if they are convicted. The FBI and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service are conducting the investigation, federal prosecutors said.
