A Kent man has been arrested and charged with providing material support to a suicide bomber who destroyed a California fertility clinic last month in what federal officials are calling a domestic terrorism case rooted in extremist ideology.
Daniel Jongyon Park, 32, was taken into custody Tuesday night at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York after arriving on a flight from Poland.
According to federal prosecutors, Park allegedly shipped more than 180 pounds of ammonium nitrate — a common explosive precursor — to the bomber, 25-year-old Guy Edward Bartkus of Twentynine Palms, CA.
Park’s connection to the May 17 bombing was revealed in a criminal complaint unsealed in the Eastern District of New York. Prosecutors allege Park and Bartkus shared anti-natalist and anti-pro-life beliefs and that Park not only supplied chemicals but also spent two weeks in early 2024 assisting with experiments at Bartkus’s property.
“Domestic terrorism is evil and unacceptable,” said U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California. “Those who aid terrorists can expect to feel the cold wrath of justice.”
Federal investigators say the materials Park provided were used by Bartkus to assemble a car bomb that killed himself, injured several others, and demolished a Palm Springs fertility clinic.
According to the complaint, Park paid for an additional 90 pounds of ammonium nitrate shortly before the attack. He was in Poland when the bombing occurred and was detained by authorities there on May 30. He was returned to the U.S. with the help of the FBI and Polish law enforcement.
“This defendant is charged with facilitating the horrific attack on a fertility center in California,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Bringing chaos and violence to a facility that exists to help women and mothers is a particularly cruel, disgusting crime that strikes at the very heart of our shared humanity.”
Park, who has no known criminal record in Washington, faces up to 15 years in federal prison if convicted. He is currently in federal custody pending further court proceedings.
The FBI’s Inland Empire Joint Terrorism Task Force is leading the investigation, with support from the Seattle field office and other agencies.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
