A man who allegedly conspired with the Twentynine Palms resident who last month set off a car bomb that destroyed a Palm Springs fertility clinic was in federal custody Wednesday on suspicion of providing bomb-making materials to a domestic terrorist.
Daniel Park, 32, of Kent, Washington, was arrested Tuesday night at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, according to U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles Bill Essayli. Park was arrested as he returned to the United States from Poland, from which he was deported, Essayli said. He allegedly flew to Europe days after the May 17 bombing at the American Reproductive Centers clinic at 1199 N. Indian Canyon Drive.
According to Essayli, Park shipped about 180 pounds of ammonium nitrate — which is “commonly used to construct homemade bombs” — to clinic bomber Guy Edward Bartkus, 25, and also arranged for another shipment of an additional 90 pounds. Park also allegedly spent about two weeks with Bartkus in Twentynine Palms, where they were “spending time together and running experiments together in Bartkus garage” on homemade explosives.
FBI Assistant Director in Charge in Los Angeles Akil Davis said Park was also in possession of an “explosive recipe” similar to the device used in the Oklahoma City federal city bombing.
Park and Bartkus also allegedly shared the anti-pro-life, pro-mortalist views that were exhibited in a manifesto allegedly left behind by Bartkus, officials said. The pair are believed to have met online.
Park is expected to make his initial appearance in federal court in Brooklyn sometime Wednesday, pending extradition to California.
The clinic, at 1199 N. Indian Canyon Drive, was largely destroyed by the car bomb that went off shortly before 11 a.m. May 17. Bartkus was killed in the blast. His alleged online manifesto espouses disdain for families and childbirth in general.
Embryos and other lab-preserved endowments are maintained at the clinic, which sustained extensive damage, but clinic officials said none of those materials were destroyed in the blast.
Other buildings in the vicinity suffered damage from the explosion, such as broken windows and structural damage. Essayli noted the blast caused a debris field of about 250 yards.
Four people were hurt, but none severely.
The explosion was called the “largest bombing scene that we’ve had in Southern California” by FBI officials.
Bartkus tried to livestream the explosion and left behind writings that communicated “nihilistic ideations,” the FBI said. Essayli called the message “anti-pro-life.”