(CN) — The FBI and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service arrested two Orange County men Wednesday morning on federal charges that they firebombed a Planned Parenthood office in Costa Mesa, California, last year.
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, unlawful possession of a destructive device and violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. A witness identified the two and Brannon’s car from surveillance footage and text messages after the Planned Parenthood clinic was firebombed with a Molotov cocktail around 1 a.m. on March 13, 2022.
The criminal complaint includes details that Ergul and Brannon, dressed in hoodies and face masks, drove to the clinic with a Molotov cocktail containing gasoline. Brannon then ignited and threw the cocktail into the clinic.
The Costa Mesa Fire Department extinguished the fire, but it caused $1,050 in damages to the clinic, which required the area to be pressure washed and repainted. No physical harm happened due to the attack, but the clinic closed the morning after, and 30 appointments had to be canceled and rescheduled.
Ergul later texted an acquaintance that he wished he had a video of the fire at the clinic. Ergul also sent a photo of himself holding the Molotov cocktail inside a vehicle, later identified as a red Dodge Challenger driven by Brannon and registered to Brannon's stepfather.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service identified the vehicle outside Brannon's barracks at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.
Using an explosive or fire to damage real property affecting interstate commerce carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.
Ergul was arrested in 2022 for aggravated assault, unlawful imprisonment and criminal damage after punching his roommate in the nose and breaking a doorknob so she could not leave their shared apartment in Tempe, Ariz.
“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 in a 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.”
Ergul and Brannon appeared at the U.S. District Court in Santa Ana on Wednesday following their arrests. They were not asked to enter a plea, according to Thom Mrozek, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in LA.
Brannon was detained and held without bond pending trial. Ergul’s detention hearing is Friday. They will be arraigned on July 24.
Attorneys for Ergul and Brannon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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