A 22-year-old man has been sentenced to six years in prison for his role in the 2022 firebombing of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Costa Mesa, ending a case involving two other defendants.
Tibet Ergul pleaded guilty in February to federal charges of conspiring to damage energy facilities and intentionally damaging reproductive health services. He was one of three men arrested on suspicion of committing the crime.
Elgul’s co-defendants, Xavier Patton of Brooksville, Florida, and Chance Brannon of San Juan Capistrano were recently sentenced to three-and-a-half and nine years in prison, respectively.
Ergul’s attorney, Sheila Mojtehedi, said her client “looks forward to closing this chapter and moving on with his life.”
In a letter to U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney, Elgur apologized for his actions and cited mental health issues, among other issues. He added that his “keen to please” his old friend Brannon led him to agree to attack the clinic.
“I just spent a lot of time alone, feeling as though I didn’t belong to any cause or any group; I believed that if I didn’t fulfill my friend’s wishes and somehow earn his respect, I would Losing another relationship I cultivated and ending up lonelier than before,” Al Ghul wrote.
According to Elgul’s plea agreement, on the morning of March 13, 2022, he and Brannon, dressed in dark clothing, hoods, masks and gloves, lit a cup of Molotov cocktails and threw them at the entrance of the clinic.
The facility was forced to temporarily close and staff had to reschedule about 30 appointments.
“This defendant’s hatred of others led him to plan and commit violence,” the U.S. attorney said. Martin Estrada. “We will not let bigoted intolerance divide us. My office will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute hate-motivated crimes to keep our communities safe.”
Elgur’s plea agreement alleges that after the Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision, Elgur and Brannon planned to use a second Molotov cocktail to vandalize another Planned Parenthood clinic, but after seeing law enforcement officers No action was taken after approaching their intended target.
According to the agreement, Elgur then conspired with others, including Brannon, to use firearms or Molotov cocktails to sabotage the Southern California Edison substation.
A third man, Patton, admitted teaching others how to assemble the Molotov cocktails used in the attack.
