According to federal investigators, Tibet Ergul and Chance Brannon, an active-duty Marine, are accused with using an explosive or fire to destroy real property.
Federal authorities reported Wednesday that two California males, one of whom was a Marine, were detained and charged with firebombing a Planned Parenthood facility in Costa Mesa last year.
Tibet Ergul, 21, of Irvine, and Chance Brannon, 23, of San Juan Capistrano, an active-duty Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton, have been charged with using an explosive or fire to destroy real property affecting interstate commerce, according to a statement from the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
According to the criminal complaint, they lit a Molotov cocktail and tossed it towards the clinic’s entrance on March 13, 2022.
According to the lawsuit, the damage was estimated to be $1,050, and appointments for around 30 patients had to be rescheduled.
“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 US Attorney Martin Estrada in a statement. “While it is fortunate that no one was physically harmed and that responders were able to prevent the clinic from being destroyed, the defendants’ violent actions are entirely unacceptable.”
According to security footage, two individuals wearing hooded sweatshirts and masks approach the Planned Parenthood at 1 a.m. and toss a burning device at the front entrance.
According to the complaint, the FBI issued a poster in January promising a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to the identity, arrest, and conviction of the offenders.
According to the complaint, on April 3, a witness phoned the FBI’s National Threat Operations Centre claiming to be able to identify the persons allegedly involved. According to the allegation, the witness, who said they knew the two guys from high school, said Ergul admitted his involvement in messages.
According to the lawsuit, Ergul texted the witness a day after the incident stating “he wished he ‘could’ve recorded the combustion'” and sending a photo of a gloved hand holding a Molotov cocktail. According to the lawsuit, the photo was shot inside a car that the witness thought belonged to Brannon.
Federal prosecutors said Ergul and Brannon will appear in court on Wednesday. They were unable to be reached for comment, and it was unclear whether they had solicitors on their side.
No one from Costa Mesa Planned Parenthood could be reached for comment as of Wednesday afternoon.
If Ergul and Brannon are convicted of the crime, they risk up to 20 years in federal prison. The FBI and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service are leading the inquiry, according to federal prosecutors.
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