LOS ANGELES (AP) — Federal authorities have arrested Daniel Park, 32, from Washington state, for his alleged collaboration with Guy Edward Bartkus, the bomber responsible for the May 17 explosion at a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California. Park is accused of providing chemicals used to create explosives and visiting Bartkus to experiment with them in preparation for the attack. The two men connected through fringe online forums that promoted anti-natalist beliefs, opposing human procreation.
The explosion that gutted the American Reproductive Centers and damaged nearby buildings has been described as terrorism and is considered one of the largest bomb scenes in Southern California. Fortunately, the clinic was closed at the time, and no embryos were harmed. Bartkus, aged 25, died in the explosion.
Park was apprehended at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport after being extradited from Poland, where he had fled four days following the attack. He faces charges for providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists. During his court appearance in Brooklyn, Park waived his right to a detention hearing, with Judge Cheryl Pollak ordering him to remain in custody due to the serious risk he poses. He is set to be transferred to California for further proceedings, although a date for a probable cause hearing has yet to be established.
Authorities conducted a search of Park's home in Kent, Washington, and discovered a substantial cache of chemicals, including handwritten notes containing explosive equations. One of these notes referenced a recipe similar to that used in the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995, which resulted in 168 fatalities. Park had reportedly spent years accumulating ammonium nitrate—a chemical commonly used in explosives—before shipping it to Bartkus. He sent 180 pounds (approximately 82 kilograms) to Bartkus in January and later acquired an additional 90 pounds (approximately 41 kilograms) right before the bombing, indicating a methodical approach to their plans.
Prior to the attack, Bartkus had engaged with an AI chat application regarding explosives, specifically inquiring about detonation velocity and the effectiveness of various mixtures, including diesel and gasoline. Investigators found evidence that pointed to a well-prepared plan for a significant explosion. Bartkus’s family reported that both men had been conducting experiments in their garage, but they did not raise any alarms with local authorities.
Park and Bartkus had bonded over their anti-natalist ideology, which espouses a belief against childbirth and population growth. The attack on the fertility clinic was seen as a direct targeting of pro-life values. Bartkus had established a website featuring audio recordings where he declared, “Basically I’m anti-life. And IVF is like kind of the epitome of pro-life ideology.” Investigators are still determining Bartkus’s intention during the bombing and why he specifically chose that clinic as a target.
Histories of their online activity revealed a long-standing commitment to pro-mortalist views, with Park having made related postings in an anti-natalist Reddit forum for nearly a decade. He had even discussed efforts to recruit others for the movement, suggesting a deeply-rooted belief in their ideology. Despite this inclination, posts seeking in-person events, made by Park earlier this year, went largely unanswered.
Park and Bartkus had reportedly visited each other multiple times over the last year, with family members indicating that their relationship was focused on their shared ideologies and experiments in creating explosives, raising concerns about the spread of anti-natalist sentiment and its real-world implications.
