A man from Washington state is facing terrorism charges in connection with last month’s attack on a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, federal authorities announced Wednesday.
Daniel Park, 32, has been charged with providing and attempting to provide material support to a terrorist, Bill Essayli, the top federal prosecutor in L.A., said at a news conference Wednesday morning.
Park allegedly helped Guy Edward Bartkus, the accused bomber, secure 270 pounds of ammonium nitrate, an explosive precursor that can be used to construct homemade bombs.
Bartkus, 25, is suspected of detonating a bomb at American Reproductive Centers in Palm Springs on May 17, killing himself and injuring four people. The blast created a debris field of 250 yards in size, Essayli said.
Days after the bombing, authorities say Park left the U.S. for Europe. Polish law enforcement detained him Friday, and he was arrested Tuesday night at JFK airport in New York after being deported, authorities said.
Park, who allegedly shared Bartkus’ anti-natalist extremist ideology, is expected to make his initial appearance in Brooklyn federal court on Wednesday afternoon.
Park is accused of shipping approximately 180 pounds of ammonium nitrate and paying for an additional 90 pounds of ammonium nitrate to be shipped to Bartkus in the days leading to the Palm Springs attack.
Essayli said that Park spent two weeks visiting Bartkus in Twentynine Palms in late January and early February. The two allegedly ran experiments together in Bartkus’ garage, from which the FBI recovered large quantities of chemical precursors and lab equipment after the bombing.
FBI Assistant Director for Los Angeles Akil Davis said that Park had a similar ideology to Bartkus and posted about these ideologies on Internet forums dating back to 2016. Davis said search warrants conducted in the wake of the bombing led agents to identify Park’s role in the explosion.
Davis said six packages of ammonium nitrate were shipped from Park in Seattle to Bartkus. He said they are awaiting the results of an analysis of the explosive precursor chemicals shipped from Park.
Park was allegedly in possession of an explosive recipe that was similar to that used in the Oklahoma City bombing.
The FBI described the Palm Springs blast — powerful enough to damage buildings several blocks away — as “probably the largest bombing scene that we’ve had in Southern California,” eclipsing the 2018 bombing of a day spa in Aliso Viejo.
Law enforcement sources previously told The Times that the bomber used such a large amount of explosives that the bomb shredded his remains.
The law enforcement sources said authorities recovered explosive materials from Bartkus’ home and that he was skilled in assembling explosive devices. He also was a longtime rocket builder.
FBI case investigators, as well as law enforcement sources, characterize Bartkus as having “antinatalist” ideations, a conclusion drawn from social media posts and other online materials authorities have linked to him.
In those public posts, he argued that procreation without the consent of the unborn is unethical and unjustifiable in a world struggling with environmental harm, violence and overpopulation.
The online trail that authorities are scouring to glean some insight into Bartkus’ motives include a website that appears dedicated to the Palm Springs bombing. It features a 30-minute recording that site data indicate was uploaded at the time of the explosion, and promises a video — never posted — of the blast. There are also YouTube videos under a web alias associated with Bartkus, and threads on Reddit and a suicide forum.
In those, Bartkus voiced despondence over the death of a “best friend,” Sophie, a woman who lived in Washington who ran multiple social media sites espousing radical feminism, veganism and intentional suicide. She died in April, allegedly shot in the head by her partner. That man told police he was acting at her request.
