Two California men were arraigned Monday in federal court on charges in connection with a firebombing attack on a southern California Planned Parenthood clinic last year, authorities said.
Chance Brannon, 23, of San Juan Capistrano, who is a Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton, and Tibet Ergul, 21, of Irvine, appeared in federal court in Santa Ana Monday for their arraignment following their arrest last month.
A third man — Xavier Batten, 21, of Brooksville, Florida — was arrested Friday and ordered to be detained pending trial, according to the Department of Justice.
Citing his lawyer, Kate Corrigan, Brannon pleaded not guilty, CNN reported. Sheila Mojtehedi, Ergul's lawyer, declined to comment, according to published reports. A lawyer for Batten is not yet listed on his docket, and he has not entered a formal plea.
Unsealed on Friday, the indictment charges all three defendants with one count of conspiracy and one count of malicious destruction of property by fire and explosion.
Brannon and Ergul are also each charged with one count of possession of an unregistered destructive device and one misdemeanor count of intentional damage to a reproductive health services facility.
According to the indictment, the defendants plotted to throw a Molotov cocktail at the Planned Parenthood clinic in Costa Mesa in February and March of 2022. Brannon and Ergul allegedly chose the target, obtained the materials, assembled the Molotov cocktail, and threw the device at the clinic around 1 a.m. around March 13, 2022.
Batten allegedly advised and directed Brannon on how to create the Molotov cocktail.
According to court documents, "The device landed against a southern wall next to the glass door and erupted into a fire, which spread up the wall and across the ceiling above the glass door."
No one was injured in the attack, but the Planned Parenthood facility was forced to close the next morning and cancel approximately 30 appointments, authorities said.
According to the Justice Department, the conspiracy and malicious destruction counts each carry a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. The count of possession of an unregistered destructive device is punishable by up to 10 years and the intentional damage to a reproductive health facility charge carries a statutory maximum penalty of one year in federal prison.
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