A California man who firebombed a Planned Parenthood clinic in Costa Mesa, and who plotted other attacks, including an attack on the Orange County power grid in furtherance of a race war; an attack at Dodger Stadium during an LGBTQ pride celebration; and the home invasions of Jewish homes in Los Angeles, was sentenced today to nine years in prison, and ordered to pay $1,000 in restitution.
Chance Brannon, 24, of San Juan Capistrano, who was an active-duty member of the U.S. Marine Corps stationed at Camp Pendleton at the time of the firebombing, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney. Brannon has been in federal custody since his arrest in June 2023.
Brannon pleaded guilty in November 2023 to one count of conspiracy, one count of malicious destruction of property by fire and explosives, one count of possession of an unregistered destructive device, and one count of intentionally damaging a reproductive health services facility in violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.
"Brannon's deep-rooted hatred and extremist views inspired him to target individuals or groups who did not conform to his neo-Nazi worldview and, in one case, led him to carry out a violent attack which could have killed innocent people," said Acting Assistant Director in Charge Mehtab Syed of the FBI Los Angeles Field Office.
Throughout the early summer of 2023, Brannon and Ergul also discussed and researched how to attack Dodger Stadium on a night celebrating LGBTQ pride, including by using a remote-detonated device.
As part of those conversations, Brannon shared a "WW2 sabotage manual" with Ergul, discussed doing "dry runs" to "case" the stadium, and conducted research on Ted Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber. Brannon and Ergul were arrested two days before the event, according to court documents.
Brannon was motivated by an extremist neo-Nazi ideology, prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memorandum. Brannon frequently greeted his friends using "88," which is coded language for "Heil Hitler," and he called Adolf Hitler "a great man who loved his people and tried to save us all from the Jews," according to the sentencing memorandum.
Brannon possessed antisemitic writings, drawings, and literature in his bedroom at the time of his arrest and made comments to his fellow Marines, including "All Jews deserve to die."
I had two previous posts following the development of this case which are now missing, because the thread was deleted.