Active Duty Marine Arrested After Firebombing of Planned Parenthood

Agents arrested an active duty Marine and another suspect Wednesday in connection to the firebombing of a Planned Parenthood clinic in California in March 2022.

Chance Brannon, 23, from San Juan Capistrano and stationed at Camp Pendleton; and 21-year-old Tibet Ergul, from Irvine, were detained by FBI and Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents.

The pair were both charged with using an explosive or fire to damage real property affecting interstate commerce. Brannon and Ergul allegedly threw a molotov cocktail at the clinic entrance in Costa Mesa on March 13 2022.

The fire closed the clinic, prompting the cancelation of 30 appointments that day.

“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.”

Security videos from the day show two men wearing hooded sweatshirts and face masks approaching the clinic at around 1 a.m. The pair can be seen lighting a device and throwing it at the glass front door, causing flames to spread up the wall and across the ceiling.

“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 defendants were due to make an initial appearance at the United States District Court in Santa Ana Wednesday afternoon.

If found guilty, the defendants face a maximum sentence of 20 years in jail.