FBI arrests Washington man for providing explosive chemicals in Palm Springs fertility clinic bombing

The FBI has arrested a Washington state man accused of providing large amounts of chemicals to make explosives for last month’s bombing of a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, federal authorities announced Wednesday.

Daniel Park, 32, was taken into custody Tuesday night at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport after being deported from Poland, where he had traveled four days after the bombing, U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli told reporters with The Associated Press.

Federal authorities allege Park shipped 180 pounds of ammonium nitrate to the 25-year-old man suspected of bombing the American Reproductive Centers clinic off North Indian Canyon Drive who was killed in the blast. The chemical compound is an explosive precursor that can be used to make homemade bombs, Essayli said.

Park traveled earlier this year to Twentynine Palms, staying with the suspected bomber from Jan. 25 to Feb. 8, where the two conducted experiments in bomb-making in a detached garage, authorities said. Three days before Park’s arrival, records from an AI chat application show the bombing suspect researched how to make powerful explosions using ammonium nitrate and fuel.

Park and the bombing suspect met in online forums dedicated to the anti-natalist movement, bonding over a “shared belief that people shouldn’t exist,” Akil Davis, the FBI’s assistant director in charge, told AP. Officials said the bombing suspect intentionally targeted the fertility clinic as an act of terrorism. He tried to livestream the explosion, but the attempt failed.

The blast gutted the fertility clinic and shattered the windows of nearby buildings, which sustained an estimated $6 million to $12 million in damage. The clinic, which has since reopened across the street, provides services to help people get pregnant, including in vitro fertilization and fertility evaluations.

Authorities executed a search warrant at Park’s residence in Seattle and found “an explosive recipe that was similar to the Oklahoma City bombing.” Davis previously called the explosion possibly the “largest bombing scene that we’ve had in Southern California.” Park was detained in Poland on May 30 and later was ordered deported to the United States.

Park is charged with providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists and is expected to make his initial appearance today in United States District Court in Brooklyn, New York. If convicted, he would face a statutory maximum sentence of 15 years in federal prison.

---