US District Judge Cormac J. Carney sentenced 21-year-old Xavier Batten of Florida to 42 months in prison for conspiring to firebomb a Planned Parenthood clinic, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced in a statement Monday.
The events leading to Batten’s sentence transpired in February and March of 2022. According to the DOJ’s statement, Batten conspired with Chance Brannon and Tibet Ergul, both from California, to construct a Molotov cocktail which was later detonated in a Planned Parenthood clinic in Costa Mesa, California. The incendiary device started a fire in the clinic, ultimately “forc[ing] it to temporarily close and to reschedule approximately 30 patients’ appointments.” Though Batten was not physically present to aid in the device’s construction, he provided instructions over the phone, with knowledge of his partners’ intentions. In January 2024, Batten pleaded guilty to “one felony count of possessing an unregistered destructive device” and “one misdemeanor count of intentionally damaging a reproductive health services facility, in violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.”
In a sentencing memorandum filed by the government, the prosecutors cite multiple text conversations between Batten and Brannon. In an exchange before the attack, Batten instructed his codefendant on how much styrofoam to use in building the device. A few minutes after the attack, Brannon told Batten “[i]t’s done,” via text. “Congratulations on your success brother,” Batten responded. According to the government, “[Batten’s] willingness to help his codefendants firebomb a healthcare clinic from afar, without being present to check for people or control the circumstances, reflects a seeming apathy to whether anyone would be hurt or killed as a result of his tutelage.”
During Batten’s hearing, Judge Carney referred to Batten’s wrongdoing as a “cowardly crime” that showed “no empathy for women and their rights,” according to the DOJ statement. In addition to the 42-month prison sentence, Judge Carney ordered Batten to pay $1,000 restitution and prescribed a supervised release plan following Batten’s release.
Earlier this year, Ergul pleaded guilty to conspiring to firebomb the Planned Parenthood clinic, and Brannon was sentenced to nine years in prison for the crime. Both were also involved in planning an attack on Dodger Stadium during an LGBTQ pride celebration. Additionally, Brannon plotted attacks “on the Orange County power grid in furtherance of a race war” and invasions of Jewish homes in Los Angeles.
A report published by the National Abortion Federation demonstrates that violence against abortion providers increased significantly in 2022. Many of the incidents followed the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which held that there was no constitutional right to abortion.
