3rd man accused of firebombing Planned Parenthood; Pendleton Marine among suspects

A third man has been arrested on federal charges related to the firebombing of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Southern California last year, authorities said Monday.

Xavier Batten, 21, was arrested Friday in Florida by special agents from the FBI and has been ordered to be detained pending trial, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles said. Online court records for the case in California do not list an attorney for Batten, who prosecutors said was from Brooksville, Florida. He is due in court on Friday.

U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada told reporters outside the federal courthouse in Santa Ana Monday that his office was working with prosecutors in Florida on a transfer of the defendant to Orange County.

Two other defendants who were arrested in June were arraigned in federal court in California Monday, prosecutors said in a statement. Tibet Ergul, 21, of Irvine, and Chance Brannon, 23, of San Juan Capistrano, an active-duty Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton, are expected to be arraigned in federal court in Santa Ana.

All three men are charged with conspiracy and malicious destruction of property by fire and explosion, the statement said. Ergul and Brannon also face "one count of possession of an unregistered destructive device and one misdemeanor count of intentional damage to a reproductive health services facility, which is a violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act," according to prosecutors.

“This indictment shows that federal law enforcement will work diligently to uncover and hold accountable those who plan and carry out violent extremist acts against others,” Estrada said in the statement.

Brannon and Ergul pleaded not guilty to federal charges at their arraignment Monday morning. A pretrial conference was scheduled for Aug. 28 and a trial date was scheduled for Sept. 5 before U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney.

The charges are tied to an attack at the clinic in the Southern California city of Costa Mesa at around 1 a.m. on March 13, 2022, authorities said. A Molotov cocktail was thrown at the front of the building and fire spread up a wall and across a ceiling.

Security video recorded two people in hooded sweatshirts and face masks carry out the attack. No one was hurt but the clinic had to cancel about 30 appointments, authorities said.

Prosecutors are alleging that Batten "advised and directed" Brannon on how to build the firebomb.

"This attack was not random," Estrada said. "It was a planned and concerted effort to attack the clinic on account of the services it provided -- namely reproductive health services."

Estrada added, "There were repeated discussions prior to the attack and Batten instructed Brannon on how to construct a Molotov cocktail."

As for the alleged motive for the attack, Estrada said, "Our investigation is ongoing and we're learning more all of the time... But there is strong evidence of animus toward women."

The defendants "boasted about what they had done" in messages to each other after the attack, Estrada said.

A day after the attack, Ergul "texted an acquaintance, taking credit for the fire and noting that he wished he 'could've recorded the combustion," ' according to an affidavit from FBI Special Agent Jennifer Hirsch.

Ergul sent a photograph to an "acquaintance" showing "his gloved hand holding the Molotov cocktail from inside Brannon's car," according to Hirsch.

Hirsch also said that the pair returned to the clinic about two hours later.

In January, the FBI offered a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to an arrest of suspects, prompting a call from a witness who called the FBI in April, Hirsch said. The witness, who was a friend of the suspects in high school, said Ergul sent text messages admitting his involvement in the bombing, according to Hirsch.

She said the text message read, "Boom (fire emoji)" at "1500 Blk nutmeg plaza... Costa Mesa health center/Planned Parenthood clinic."

The FBI agent also said that Ergul was arrested Oct. 21, 2022, in Tempe, Arizona, on suspicion of aggravated assault, unlawful imprisonment and criminal damage after "punching his roommate in the nose and breaking the doorknob so she could not leave their shared apartment."

Brannon's attorney, Kate Corrigan, declined comment Monday. At her client's initial appearance in court in June, she told U.S. District Judge Douglas McCormick she found it "a little ironic" that officials were citing Brannon's military training as a reason for considering him as "dangerous." She indicated he specialized as a Farsi language expert.

Corrigan said her client would surrender his passport, could be monitored with a GPS device and had strong local family ties with the means to pay for his bond. Brannon has no prior criminal history, she added.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathrynne Seiden told McCormick at the June hearing that Brannon crossed over into Mexico on foot without notifying Camp Pendleton officials as required. She also said his biological father owns an online betting company in Costa Rica that has been investigated for money laundering.

Corrigan said Brannon's parents divorced "two decades ago" and that his father "abandoned the family years ago ... and there's no indication I've heard there's any communication or financial ties."

Seiden said that during a search agents seized silencers, a short- barrel rifle and weapons that are banned.

The agents also found "neo Nazi" paraphernalia in his room as well as a drawing of a service member shooting someone who is Jewish holding money, and the drawing was captioned, "Thank you for keeping America pure," Seiden said.

There were also writings in his room that included a declaration of "an unbelievable desire to murder journalists," Seiden alleged.

Corrigan noted that the government was alleging her client possessed the material but did not create it. She also said it was irrelevant to the alleged crime.

"I can see if it was a crime against a synagogue," Corrigan said.

The charges in the firebombing case could yield the following sentences, prosecutors said:

• The conspiracy and malicious destruction counts each carry a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison
• The count of possession of an unregistered destructive device is punishable by up to 10 years in federal prison
• The intentional damage to a reproductive health facility charge carries a statutory maximum sentence of one year in federal prison

City News Service contributed to this report — Ed.