LOS ANGELES
A Washington man has been arrested for allegedly providing material support to the suicide bomber who destroyed a Palm Springs fertility clinic on May 17, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.
Daniel Jongyon Park, 32, of Kent, Washington, was taken into custody at JFK Airport in New York after arriving from Poland. He is charged with providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists and is expected to appear in federal court in Brooklyn.
Authorities say Park shipped and financed large quantities of ammonium nitrate—an explosive precursor—to Guy Edward Bartkus, 25, who later carried out the bombing. Bartkus, who was killed in the blast, espoused extremist anti-natalist views and believed that people should not be born without consent.
Park allegedly sent about 180 pounds of ammonium nitrate to Bartkus and paid for another 90 pounds days before the attack. He also stayed with Bartkus in late January and early February, where they conducted “experiments” in a garage later found to contain bomb-making materials.
The FBI says Park’s actions directly contributed to the deadly attack, which injured several people and destroyed the clinic. Four days after the bombing, Park fled to Europe. He was detained in Poland on May 30 and deported back to the U.S.
If convicted, Park faces up to 15 years in federal prison.
The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Inland Empire Joint Terrorism Task Force, with help from local and international law enforcement.