Costa Mesa Planned Parenthood firebomb attack: 3rd suspect arrested
A third suspect was arrested Friday and held without bail in Santa Ana, charged in a Molotov cocktail attack on a Planned Parenthood facility in Costa Mesa in 2022.
Prosecutors say that a hatred towards women was the fueling motive behind the attack.
Xavier Batten, 21, of Brooksville, Florida, was arrested by the FBI on Friday and was ordered held without bail, United States Attorney Martin Estrada announced Monday.
Batten is suspected of taking part in a 2022 firebombing attack on a Costa Mesa clinic operated by Planned Parenthood Federation of America. As a result of the March firebombing, the clinic was forced to close the following morning and cancel approximately 30 appointments.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Batten is charged along with two previously identified defendants -- Tibet Ergul, 21, of Irvine, and 23-year-old Chance Brannon of San Juan Capistrano.
Brannon is an active-duty Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton. Brannon and Ergul were arrested June 14 on suspicion of using an explosive or fire to damage real property affecting interstate commerce which carries a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.
Ergul and Brannon are accused of igniting and throwing a Molotov cocktail at the clinic entrance during the early morning hours of March 13, 2022. Security video captured the attack. Batten is accused of advising and directing Brannon on how to build the Molotov cocktail.
"I will also say, as I mentioned when we did the arrest and searches, we found another Molotov cocktail," Estrada said during a press conference on Monday. "We found illegal firearms in the possession of one of the defendants."
All three defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy and one count of malicious destruction of property by fire and explosion. Brannon and Ergul are both also charged with 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, prosecutors said.
"When they committed the attack, they were masked, hooded, "Estrada said. "As soon as they threw the Molotov they fled the scene and that's how they concealed their identity. Defendants boasted about what they'd done in messages and photos they shared after the attack."
Estrada said that Ergul texted a picture of himself to a friend, holding the incendiary device the day after the attack. The photo was allegedly taken inside of Brannon's car.
Upon request for comment by KCAL News, Planned Parenthood said, "Hopefully this will serve as a warning to others with malicious intent toward health care providers, that this type of violence and intimidation will not be tolerated."
