Guilty plea in Planned Parenthood bombing

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A former U.S. Marine pleaded guilty in federal court to firebombing a Bay Area Planned Parenthood clinic 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 attack occurred around 1 a.m. on March 13, 2022, in Costa Mesa. 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-yearold Tibet Ergul from Irvine.

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, 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.”

Ergul and Batten have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them. They are scheduled to go to trial next March.

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.