A Washington man accused of aiding the Palm Springs fertility clinic bomber has died in custody after reportedly jumping from a high prison balcony. Daniel Jongyon Park, 32, was pronounced dead at a hospital shortly after the fall, sources told the LA Times.
Park was facing charges of supplying bomb-making materials to Guy Edward Bartkus, who died on May 17 in an explosion outside the American Reproductive Centers fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California. The FBI has classified the bombing as an intentional act of domestic terrorism.
According to investigators, Park shipped 180 pounds of ammonium nitrate to Bartkus in January and another 90 pounds just days before the blast. The explosion leveled the clinic, shattered windows in surrounding buildings, and caused multiple injuries. Fortunately, officials confirmed that no embryos were harmed in the attack.
The FBI arrested Park on June 3 at JFK Airport in New York after a coordinated international effort. Attorney General Pam Bondi praised the swift action, noting that the attack targeted a facility dedicated to helping women and families. “This defendant is charged with facilitating the horrific attack on a fertility center in California,” Bondi said. “Bringing chaos and violence to a facility that exists to help women and mothers is a particularly cruel, disgusting crime.”
At the time of his arrest, Park was facing up to 15 years in federal prison. The FBI stated that a search of his home turned up an explosive recipe similar to the one used in the Oklahoma City bombing.
Bartkus, who detonated the bomb and died in the explosion, reportedly held pro-moralism and anti-natalism views, along with a radical anti-pro-life ideology.
