A former US Marine pleaded guilty in federal court on Thursday, Nov. 30 to firebombing a Planned Parenthood clinic in Costa Mesa in 2022.
Chance Brannon, 24, of San Juan Capistrano, who was an active-duty Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton at the time of the crime, also said he made plans for additional attacks on a second Planned Parenthood clinic, a Southern California Edison substation, and an LGBTQ pride night celebration at Dodger Stadium, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement.
Brannon pleaded guilty to four felony counts, including malicious destruction of property by fire and explosives and intentional damage to a reproductive health services facility.
The Costa Mesa attack occurred around 1 a.m. on March 13, 2022. Surveillance footage showed Brannon and another person throwing a Molotov cocktail at the front door of the medical clinic. The second suspect was later identified as 22-year-old Tibet Ergul from Irvine.
Brannon was arrested in June 2023, when he was found in possession of an unregistered rifle and two silencers, authorities said.
According to Brannon’s plea agreement, he conspired to use a Molotov cocktail to destroy a commercial property with Ergul and another co-defendant, 21-year-old Xavier Batten of Brooksville, Florida. Brannon considered various targets, including the Anti-Defamation League in San Diego, prosecutors said, before he ultimately decided to target a Planned Parenthood clinic to “scare pregnant women, deter doctors and staff from providing abortion services, and encourage similar violent acts.”
As part of their conversations, Brannon shared a “WW2 sabotage manual” with Ergul, discussed doing “dry runs” to “case” Dodger Stadium, and researched Ted Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber, prosecutors said. The two were arrested two days before the pride night celebration.
Ergul and Batten have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them. They are scheduled to go to trial on March 19, 2024.
Brannon faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each felony conspiracy and malicious destruction count, as well as up to 10 years for possession of an unregistered destructive device. His sentencing was scheduled for April 15, 2024.
“This defendant exemplifies the insidious danger posed by domestic extremism,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said. “We must never waver in our commitment to protect the American people from violent extremist ideology.”
