Molotov cocktail used in O.C. Planned Parenthood attack lands Florida man in prison

A Florida man was sentenced to 3½ years in federal prison Monday for assisting two others in crafting a Molotov cocktail that was thrown at a Costa Mesa Planned Parenthood clinic in 2022, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

Xavier Batten, 21, of Brooksville, Fla., pleaded guilty on Jan. 19 to one felony count of possessing an unregistered destructive device and one misdemeanor count of intentionally damaging a reproductive health services facility.

According to a news release from the federal prosecutor’s office in Los Angeles, Batten told Orange County residents Chance Brannon and Tibet Ergul how to assemble the Molotov cocktail, an incendiary device which consists of flammable substances and a fuse.

Brannon and Ergul built the device in Ergul’s garage on March 12, 2022, while Batten instructed them from Florida, prosecutors said. Brannon was an active-duty U.S. Marine at the time.

Read more: Los Angeles Times