(ConservativeSense.com) – An ex-Marine who attacked a Planned Parenthood in Southern California was just sentenced to nine years in prison for his actions.
Twenty-four-year-old Chance Brannon of San Juan Capistrano was sentenced on Monday, April 15, to nine years for hitting a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in Costa Mesa with a Molotov cocktail in 2022.
Brannon pleaded guilty last year to four felony counts, including intentional damage to a facility for reproductive health and malicious destruction of property. According to the US Attorney’s Office, Brannon also admitted that he had further plans to attack another clinic, as well as an LGBTQ pride celebration taking place at Dodger Stadium and a substation in Southern California.
At the time of the attack, Brannon was on active duty in the military and stationed at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in San Diego County. On March 13, 2022, Brannon and an accomplice were captured on surveillance footage tossing a Molotov cocktail at the entrance of the Planned Parenthood abortion clinic. The facility was closed during the bombing and there were no injuries. Since he was arrested in June 2023, Brannon has remained in federal custody.
Brannon’s plea agreement states that he conspired with two accomplices to destroy a commercial property with an explosive device. The co-defendants are Xavier Batten and TIbet Ergul, who have also pleaded guilty to all charges and are due for sentencing in May.
US District Judge Cormac J. Carney called Brannon’s actions “cruel and indefensible domestic terrorism.” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco praised the sentencing for holding Brannon “accountable for placing lives at risk” from his “brazen attack” in the facility.
One of the laws Brannon violated was the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. Kristen Clarke, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, said the defendant’s assault on the facility “was designed to terrorize” those who seek “reproductive healthcare” and its providers.
The sentencing comes at a time when the US is more divided on the abortion issue than ever, and shortly after the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that a Civil War-era law banning the practice completely was enforceable.
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