Latest news with #GuyBartkus
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Calif. fertility clinic bombing co-conspirator's death raises questions about L.A. lockup
The death of Daniel Park, the Washington state man accused of conspiring to bomb a fertility clinic in California, is being investigated as a suicide, according to Park's former defense attorney. Peter Hardin, a defense attorney who was representing Park, told CBS News that Park's parents "were able to locate and recover Daniel's body" but his family has not been notified about an official cause of death. As Park's death in federal custody is being investigated as a possible death by suicide, other attorneys have raised questions about the L.A. lockup. A U.S. Bureau of Prisons spokesperson declined to answer questions about the investigation of Park's death. Park had arrived at the L.A. detention center on June 13. His death at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles was confirmed by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons on June 24, but authorities have not disclosed the cause. The death of the 32-year-old has shuttered the federal criminal prosecution and thickens the cloud of mystery surrounding the May 17 bombing attack at the American Reproductive Centers fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California. The alleged bomber and Park's alleged co-conspirator, 25-year-old Guy Bartkus, was killed in the bombing, the FBI said. Four people were injured in the explosion. Park was accused of shipping approximately 180 pounds of ammonium nitrate to be used by Bartkus. He was charged with Attempting to Provide Material Support to Terrorists, Conspiracy to manufacture unregistered destructive devices and aiding and abetting the manufacture of unregistered destructive devices. Prosecutors alleged Park and Bartkus shared extremist views. In a charging document, the Justice Department said, "Bartkus's attack was motivated by his pro-mortalism, anti-natalism, and anti-pro-life ideology, which is the belief that individuals should not be born without their consent and that non-existence is best." Akil Davis, assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles field office, said Bartkus had "nihilistic ideations" and investigators believe he was attempting to livestream the bombing. Park's death closes the only prosecution in the fertility clinic bombing. It also comes amid questions about the conditions at the L.A. Metropolitan Detention Center. The prison is where people charged with a crime are held prior to and during court proceedings. It also holds those serving short sentences. Immigration lawyers in California told CBS News last month that they have been receiving increasing calls about unmet medical needs at the detention center. One lawyer, who chose not to identify herself because she has clients inside the detention center, said there are reports of "inhumane" conditions, including food shortages, cramped confinement, freezing temperatures and environments that are a "ticking-time bomb." A 2024 report by the Justice Department's Office of Inspector General raised concerns about the Bureau of Prisons' response to inmate emergencies. "We found significant shortcomings in BOP staff's emergency responses to nearly half of the inmate deaths we reviewed," the report said. "These shortcomings ranged from a lack of urgency in responding, failure to bring or use appropriate emergency equipment, unclear radio communications, and issues with naloxone administration in opioid overdose cases." Responding to the inspector general's findings, a Bureau of Prisons spokesperson told CBS News: "Any unexpected death of an inmate is tragic. "As noted in the Inspector General's report, we have already taken many steps to mitigate these deaths, and we welcome Inspector General's recommendations as a way to further our efforts. We will continue to work with the Office of Inspector General," the spokesperson said. Death toll rises as desperate search for Texas flash flood survivors continues How Lady Liberty became a beacon for immigrants Millions head home as Fourth of July weekend wraps up
CBS News
06-07-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Death of California fertility clinic bombing co-conspirator raises questions about L.A. detention center
The death of Daniel Park, the Washington state man accused of conspiring to bomb a fertility clinic in California, is being investigated as a suicide, according to Park's former defense attorney. Peter Hardin, a defense attorney who was representing Park, told CBS News that Park's parents "were able to locate and recover Daniel's body" but his family has not been notified about an official cause of death. As Park's death in federal custody is being investigated as a possible death by suicide, other attorneys have raised questions about the L.A. lockup. A U.S. Bureau of Prisons spokesperson declined to answer questions about the investigation of Park's death. Park had arrived at the L.A. detention center on June 13. His death at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles was confirmed by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons on June 24, but authorities have not disclosed the cause. The death of the 32-year-old has shuttered the federal criminal prosecution and thickens the cloud of mystery surrounding the May 17 bombing attack at the American Reproductive Centers fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California. The alleged bomber and Park's alleged co-conspirator, 25-year-old Guy Bartkus, was killed in the bombing, the FBI said. Four people were injured in the explosion. Park was accused of shipping approximately 180 pounds of ammonium nitrate to be used by Bartkus. He was charged with Attempting to Provide Material Support to Terrorists, Conspiracy to manufacture unregistered destructive devices and aiding and abetting the manufacture of unregistered destructive devices. Prosecutors alleged Park and Bartkus shared extremist views. In a charging document, the Justice Department said, "Bartkus's attack was motivated by his pro-mortalism, anti-natalism, and anti-pro-life ideology, which is the belief that individuals should not be born without their consent and that non-existence is best." Akil Davis, assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles field office, said Bartkus had "nihilistic ideations" and investigators believe he was attempting to livestream the bombing. Park's death closes the only prosecution in the fertility clinic bombing. It also comes amid questions about the conditions at the L.A. Metropolitan Detention Center. The prison is where people charged with a crime are held prior to and during court proceedings. It also holds those serving short sentences. Immigration lawyers in California told CBS News last month that they have been receiving increasing calls about unmet medical needs at the detention center. One lawyer, who chose not to identify herself because she has clients inside the detention center, said there are reports of "inhumane" conditions, including food shortages, cramped confinement, freezing temperatures and environments that are a "ticking-time bomb." A 2024 report by the Justice Department's Office of Inspector General raised concerns about the Bureau of Prisons' response to inmate emergencies. "We found significant shortcomings in BOP staff's emergency responses to nearly half of the inmate deaths we reviewed," the report said. "These shortcomings ranged from a lack of urgency in responding, failure to bring or use appropriate emergency equipment, unclear radio communications, and issues with naloxone administration in opioid overdose cases." Responding to the inspector general's findings, a Bureau of Prisons spokesperson told CBS News: "Any unexpected death of an inmate is tragic. "As noted in the Inspector General's report, we have already taken many steps to mitigate these deaths, and we welcome Inspector General's recommendations as a way to further our efforts. We will continue to work with the Office of Inspector General," the spokesperson said.
Reuters
27-06-2025
- Reuters
Suspect in California fertility clinic bombing took own life at jail
LOS ANGELES, June 26 (Reuters) - The man charged with supplying explosives used to bomb a California fertility clinic in May took his own life while in pretrial custody, the Los Angeles County medical examiner ruled in autopsy results made public on Thursday. The coroner ruled the death on Tuesday of Daniel Park, 32, at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles to be a suicide caused by "blunt traumatic injuries" but gave no further details about the circumstances of his demise. The Los Angeles Times, citing two unnamed sources, reported on Thursday that information gathered about the death shows Park climbed onto a surface and then jumped off a high balcony at the jail, fatally injuring himself. A spokesperson for the medical examiner declined to comment on the Times' story and said additional information would be contained in the final autopsy report, "which is not yet available as the investigation is ongoing." The federal Bureau of Prisons, in whose custody Park was held, declined to comment beyond a statement issued on Tuesday detailing how he was found unconscious that morning and was pronounced dead at a hospital after jail employees tried without success to resuscitate him. Park was arrested in June following the May 17 bombing at the clinic in Palm Springs, approximately 100 miles (161 km) east of Los Angeles. The bombing killed one person, the primary suspect, Guy Bartkus, and injured several others. Park was accused of obtaining 270 pounds (122 kg) of ammonium nitrate for Bartkus to use in the bomb and that he had shared Bartkus' views. Park was not in California at the time of the bombing and was detained in Poland by Polish authorities afterward. U.S. authorities took him into custody in New York. The Bureau of Prisons said Park arrived at the Los Angeles facility on June 13 and was awaiting trial after being indicted for malicious destruction of property.
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Yahoo
Read the federal complaint against the Washington man linked to Palm Springs bombing
Daniel Jongyon Park, 32, of Kent, Washington, has been arrested in connection with the bombing of a Palm Springs, California, fertility clinic, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California announced on June 4. U.S. Attorney Bilal Essayli said at a news conference that Park shared the "extremist beliefs" of bombing suspect Guy Edward Bartkus, who died in the blast that injured four others on May 17. The Desert Sun, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported that it's believed Bartkus held "antinatalist" views. Essayli said Park is accused in a federal complaint of "providing and attempting to provide material support to a terrorist." Essayli said Park shipped about "180 pounds of ammonium nitrate" to Bartkus and visited Bartkus' home in Twentynine Palms, California, before the bombing. Related: Palm Springs bombing: Washington man arrested for allegedly aiding suspect Park was expected to appear in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn on June 4. Read the federal complaint here: Daniel Park of Kent, Washington, about 40 minutes south of Seattle, is accused of shipping 270 pounds of ammonium nitrate to Bartkus in the days leading up to the Palm Springs attack. The FBI said Park and Bartkus met on an internet forum, and Park spent two weeks visiting Bartkus' residence in late January/early February this year, spending time running tests for the bombing. Related: California fertility clinic bombing: Washington man arrested for providing explosives Days after the bombing, the FBI said, Parks left the U.S. to go to Europe. When asked by a reporter whether anyone else is suspected in the bombing, the FBI said they could not answer the question as the case remains active and under investigation. When reached by USA TODAY, the Port Authority Police Department directed questions to the FBI. USA TODAY has also reached out to the NYPD. The criminal complaint said that social media posts made from an account registered to 'a known email address for Park' made comments in forums titled pro-mortalism and anti-natalism as far back as 2016. While the complaint did not identify the social media platform or Park's username, the complaint did include quotes from Park's alleged posts. In several instances, the Desert Sun was able to find matches to the posts described in the complaint to posts on Reddit under the subreddit r/antinatalism, a dedicated page for the ideology. One of the online postings the complaint said Park made was from 2016, where he said that anti-natalism is a 'positive and hopeful thing' and described death as an option to those who are lost. The Desert Sun found the post on Reddit and, in response to another user, Park allegedly said in the same thread he was thinking of getting an 'AN related job' and 'doing whatever I can to reduce others sufferings, convert more people to AN, etc.' It's not immediately clear if "AN" stands for anti-natalism or refers to something else. In another post described in the complaint, Park in 2016 responded to a question about what people have done to not have children. 'I think a better question is what did you do to make other people not have children,' his response read. 'I don't think I did much. Dunno what I can do about other people. I just try to mention it when people seem like they're willing to listen.' More recently, in March of this year, according to the complaint, Park sought anti-natalists "or adjacent" around the Washington state or Pacific Northwest area, expressing a desire to join a local group and start protests or get involved in in-person events. This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Read the complaint against man linked to fertility clinic bombing
CNN
25-06-2025
- CNN
Man charged with supplying chemicals in California fertility clinic bombing has died in custody, officials say
Maternal healthFacebookTweetLink Follow Daniel Jongyon Park — a man federal authorities said provided chemicals to make explosives used to bomb a California fertility clinic in May — has died, according to a statement from the Federal Bureau of Prisons. On Tuesday 'at approximately 7:30 a.m., Daniel Park was found unresponsive at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Los Angeles, California,' the statement said. 'Responding employees initiated life-saving measures' and called for emergency medical services. Park was declared dead by hospital personnel, the statement added. Authorities arrested Park earlier this month at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York upon his return from Poland. Prosecutors had accused Park of shipping 180 pounds of ammonium nitrate to Guy Bartkus, who authorities believe bombed the American Reproductive Centers in Palm Springs, California. Days before the May 17 bombing, Park ordered an additional 90 pounds that were shipped to Bartkus separately, US Attorney Bill Essayli said. This is a developing story and will be updated.
