On Monday, a white supremacist veteran from California was given nine years in jail for setting fire to an abortion clinic and planning other hate-filled terrorist attacks across the state.
An attack on a Planned Parenthood center in Costa Mesa, California, on March 13 was led by 24-year-old Chance Brannon from San Juan Capistrano.
The federal government says Brannon was stationed at Camp Pendleton with the US Marine Corps at the time of the attack.
It was this person’s deep-seated hate that drove him to bomb and plan many other violent acts, including starting a race war, according to a statement from U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada. This case shows that we will take strong steps to keep everyone in our community safe from violent acts and that we will stand together against hate.
To start a race war, Brannon also planned to attack Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles during a pride event, break into the homes of Jewish people, and attack an electricity substation.
After the firebombing, the case was looked into by the FBI, NCIS, and Costa Mesa police.
Brannon was arrested in June 2023, and later that same year he pleaded guilty to the many charges that were brought against him.
The Marine was discovered with a rifle that said “Total [N-word] Death” in Cyrillic writing on it and a thumb drive that looked like a military-style necklace. The drive had a list of operating plans on it. The 2019 Christchurch mosque killing was also recorded by Brannon, and he greeted friends with “Heil Hitler,” according to officials.
People who helped him plan the crime, Tibet Ergul, 22, of Irvine, and Xavier Batten, 21, of Brooksville, Florida, have also been caught and have pleaded guilty to charges linked to their plans.
They should get their punishment next month.
