Florida man from Brooksville sentenced to prison for firebombing Planned Parenthood

A 21-year-old Florida man was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for firebombing a Southern California Planned Parenthood clinic in 2022. Xavier Batten, from Brooksville, Florida, pleaded guilty to possessing an unregistered destructive device and intentionally damaging a reproductive health services facility. He was also sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to pay $1,000 in restitution. The U.S. District Judge described Batten’s actions as a “cowardly crime” with no empathy for women and their rights. The bombing occurred on March 13, 2022, at the clinic in Costa Mesa, but luckily, no one was injured as the facility was closed at the time. Batten’s co-defendant, Chance Brannon, received a nine-year prison sentence, while another co-defendant, Tibet Ergul, has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.