Florida man sentenced to 3 years in prison for firebombing California Planned Parenthood clinic

2024-12-25 09:54:21 source:lotradecoin charts category:News

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A 21-year-old Florida man was sentenced Monday to three and a half years in prison for firebombing a Southern California Planned Parenthood clinic in 2022, federal prosecutors said.

Xavier Batten pleaded guilty in January to one felony count of possessing an unregistered destructive device and one misdemeanor count of intentionally damaging a reproductive health services facility.

U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney also sentenced Batten, of Brooksville, Florida, to three years of probation and ordered him to pay $1,000 in restitution, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement.

Carney said Batten had committed a “cowardly crime” that showed “no empathy for women and their rights,” according to the statement. He has been in federal custody since July 2023.

The clinic in Costa Mesa was bombed on March 13, 2022. Surveillance footage showed two men throwing a Molotov cocktail at the front door of the medical facility. The clinic was closed at the time and no one was injured.

A co-defendant, 24-year-old Chance Brannon, was sentenced last month to nine years in prison. Brannon, of San Juan Capistrano, California, was an active-duty Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton at the time of the bombing.

Another co-defendant, Tibet Ergul, has pleaded guilty to the charges against him. He is scheduled to be sentenced May 30.

More:News

Recommend

Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Follow Your Dreams

There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! Follow Your

Outrage over man who desecrated Quran prompts protesters to set Swedish Embassy in Iraq on fire

Protesters angered by the planned burning of a copy of the Quran by an Iraqi man in Sweden stormed t

Lawmakers Urge Biden Administration to Permanently Ban Rail Shipments of Liquefied Natural Gas

Seven members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation have urged the U.S. Department of Transport