Chance Brannon, 23, of San Juan Capistrano, Orange County, California, United States is an active-duty U.S. Marine Corps member stationed at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in California. His friend Tibet Ergül, 21, of Irvine, Orange County is an alumnus of Arizona State University in Tempe, Maricopa County, Arizona, USA.
Originally from Göktürk, Istanbul, Turkey, Gerda Agim Ergül is the mother of Tibet. She owns Gerda Pilates, a Pilates studio based in Balboa Island, Newport Beach, Orange County and incorporated on January 20, 2015.
From January 2019 to May 2023, Tibet studied biochemistry and molecular biology at Arizona State University. At around 12:55 a.m. on March 13, 2022, he and Brannon allegedly attacked a healthcare clinic in Costa Mesa, Orange County, which is operated by Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
That morning, two men wearing hooded sweatshirts and face masks were captured on security camera. They approached the clinic, ignited a Molotov cocktail and a threw it at the entrance of the clinic.
No one was injured but the clinic was forced to close and cancel around 30 appointments that day. The Costa Mesa Police Department and the Costa Mesa Fire Department responded to the scene and extinguished the fire.
On March 14, 2022, Tibet sent a text message to a friend to take credit for the fire. On October 21, 2022, the Arizona State University alumnus was arrested in Tempe for aggravated assault, unlawful imprisonment and criminal damage after punching his roommate in the nose and breaking the doorknob so she could not leave their shared apartment.
On January 19, 2023, the Federal Bureau of Investigation offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the suspects responsible for the arson in Costa Mesa on March 13, 2022. On April 3, 2023, the friend who received a text message from Tibet on March 14, 2022 contacted the FBI.
On June 14, 2023, Tibet and Brannon were arrested without incident by special agents with the FBI and the U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service. They were each charged with using an explosive or fire to damage real property affecting interstate commerce.
CONAN Daily 