Man charged with supplying explosive chemicals to bomber of Palm Springs fertility clinic

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Man charged with supplying explosive chemicals to bomber of Palm Springs fertility clinic

2025-06-05 08:28 Last Updated At：08:31

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Federal authorities arrested a man they say collaborated with the bomber of a fertility clinic in May, alleging that he supplied chemicals used to make explosives and traveled to California to experiment with them in the bomber’s garage months before the attack.

The two men connected in fringe online forums over their shared beliefs against human procreation, authorities told reporters Wednesday. The blast gutted the fertility clinic in Palm Springs and shattered the windows of nearby buildings, with officials calling the attack terrorism and possibly the largest bomb scene ever in Southern California. The clinic was closed, and no embryos were damaged.

Guy Edward Bartkus of California, the bomber, died in the May 17 explosion. Authorities arrested Daniel Park, 32, of Washington state on Tuesday after he was extradited from Poland, where he fled to four days after the attack. Park is charged with providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists.

Park spent years stocking up on ammonium nitrate, a chemical that can be used to make explosives, before shipping it to Bartkus and later visiting him in Twentynine Palms, California. He stayed for about two weeks earlier this year, and the two conducted bomb-making experiments in the detached garage of Bartkus’ family home, said Akil Davis, the FBI’s assistant director in charge.

Park, 32, was taken into custody at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport, U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli told reporters. He appeared in federal court Wednesday in Brooklyn and, through his lawyer, waived his right to a detention hearing in New York.

Judge Cheryl Pollak ordered him to remain detained, saying he posed a serious risk. He will be sent to California, and federal defender Jeffrey Dahlberg said Park reserves the right to have a hearing on probable cause there. A date for that hearing has not been set, prosecutors said.

Authorities searched Park’s home in Kent, a suburb of Seattle, and found large quantities of several chemicals and handwritten notes of chemical explosive equations, according to a federal complaint. One was for “an explosive recipe that was similar to the Oklahoma City bombing,” Davis said, a reference to the 1995 explosion that killed 168 people and was the deadliest homegrown attack in U.S. history.

Park shipped 180 pounds (about 82 kilograms) of ammonium nitrate to Bartkus in January and bought another 90 pounds (about 41 kilograms) and had it shipped to him days before the explosion, authorities said. Park purchased ammonium nitrate online in several transactions between October 2022 and May 2025, according to a federal complaint.

Three days before Park visited him in January, Bartkus asked an AI chat application about explosives, detonation velocity, diesel and gasoline mixtures, the complaint said. The discussion centered on how to create the most powerful blast.

In a search of Bartkus' family's home, authorities found “large quantities" of explosives material. Bartkus' relatives told investigators the two were “running experiments” in the garage. Bartkus' family did not raise any concerns to officials, authorities said.

An analysis of the blast site showed that ammonium nitrate could have been used in the explosive mixture, though it could not be “conclusively established,” the complaint said.

Park and Bartkus, 25, met in online forums dedicated to the anti-natalist movement, bonding over a “shared belief that people shouldn’t exist,” Davis said.

Anti-natalism is a fringe theory that opposes childbirth and population growth and contends that people should not continue to procreate. Officials said Bartkus intentionally targeted the American Reproductive Centers, a clinic that provides services to help people get pregnant, including in vitro fertilization and fertility evaluations.

Bartkus appeared to take responsibility for the attack on a website he set up that contained audio recordings, according to the complaint.

“Basically I’m anti-life. And IVF is like kind of the epitome of pro-life ideology,” he allegedly said in one of the recordings.

Investigators have not said whether Bartkus intended to kill himself in the attack or why he chose that specific facility.

Park appeared to be a frequent poster in an anti-natalist Reddit forum going back nearly a decade, according to court papers. In 2016 he spoke of recruiting others to the movement, which he described as hopeful. “When people are lost and distraught, death is always an option,” he allegedly wrote.

Relatives told federal investigators that Park made “pro-mortalist” statements since high school, according to the complaint.

More recently, in March, he posted in the forum to say he was seeking to find fellow anti-natalists in and around Washington to “start some protests or just any in-person events,” according to court papers. The post did not receive any public comments.

Park and Bartkus visited each other going back at least a year, their relatives told investigators, according to court records.

Rodríguez reported from San Francisco, and Offenhartz from New York. Associated Press writers Eric Tucker in Washington and Phillip Marcelo in New York contributed.

Thousands of nurses go on strike at several major New York City hospitals

NEW YORK (AP) — Thousands of nurses in three hospital systems in New York City went on strike Monday after negotiations through the weekend failed to yield breakthroughs in their contract disputes.

The strike was taking place at The Mount Sinai Hospital and two of its satellite campuses, with picket lines forming. The other affected hospitals are NewYork-Presbyterian and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.

About 15,000 nurses are involved in the strike, according to New York State Nurses Association.

“After months of bargaining, management refused to make meaningful progress on core issues that nurses have been fighting for: safe staffing for patients, healthcare benefits for nurses, and workplace violence protections,” the union said in a statement issued Monday. “Management at the richest hospitals in New York City are threatening to discontinue or radically cut nurses’ health benefits.”

The strike, which comes during a severe flu season, could potentially force the hospitals to transfer patients, cancel procedures or divert ambulances. It could also put a strain on city hospitals not involved in the contract dispute, as patients avoid the medical centers hit by the strike.

The hospitals involved have been hiring temporary nurses to try and fill the labor gap during the walkout, and said in a statement during negotiations that they would “do whatever is necessary to minimize disruptions.” Montefiore posted a message assuring patients that appointments would be kept.

“NYSNA’s leaders continue to double down on their $3.6 billion in reckless demands, including nearly 40% wage increases, and their troubling proposals like demanding that a nurse not be terminated if found to be compromised by drugs or alcohol while on the job," Montefiore spokesperson Joe Solmonese said Monday after the strike had started. "We remain resolute in our commitment to providing safe and seamless care, regardless of how long the strike may last.”

New York-Presbyterian accused the union of staging a strike to “create disruption,” but said in a statement that it has taken steps to ensure patients receive the care they need.

"We’re ready to keep negotiating a fair and reasonable contract that reflects our respect for our nurses and the critical role they play, and also recognizes the challenging realities of today’s healthcare environment,” the statement said.

The work stoppage is occurring at multiple hospitals simultaneously, but each medical center is negotiating with the union independently. Several other hospitals across the city and in its suburbs reached deals in recent days to avert a possible strike.

The nurses’ demands vary by hospital, but the major issues include staffing levels and workplace safety. The union says hospitals have given nurses unmanageable workloads.

Nurses also want better security measures in the workplace, citing incidents like a an incident last week, when a man with a sharp object barricaded himself in a Brooklyn hospital room and was then killed by police.

The union also wants limitations on hospitals’ use of artificial intelligence.

The nonprofit hospitals involved in the negotiations say they’ve been working to improve staffing levels, but say the union’s demands overall are too costly.

Nurses voted to authorize the strike last month.

Both New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani had expressed concern about the possibility of the strike. As the strike deadline neared, Mamdani urged both sides to keep negotiating and reach a deal that “both honors our nurses and keeps our hospitals open.”

“Our nurses kept this city alive through its hardest moments. Their value is not negotiable,” Mamdani said.

State Attorney General Letitia James voiced similar support, saying "nurses put their lives on the line every day to keep New Yorkers healthy. They should never be forced to choose between their own safety, their patients’ well-being, and a fair contract.”

The last major nursing strike in the city was only three years ago, in 2023. That work stoppage, at Mount Sinai and Montefiore, was short, lasting three days. It resulted in a deal raising pay 19% over three years at those hospitals.

It also led to promised staffing improvements, though the union and hospitals now disagree about how much progress has been made, or whether the hospitals are retreating from staffing guarantees.