A Washington man facing terrorist charges related to the bombing of a Palm Springs fertility clinic was killed in custody in a federal custody facility in Los Angeles, officials said.
Daniel Park, 32, was not responding with his cells at the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, officials said.
“Responding employees have launched life-saving measures and emergency medical services have been requested while life-saving measures continue,” according to a statement from the Department of Justice. “Park was taken to a local hospital by EMS and later declared that he had died by hospital staff.”
No one else was injured and no further details regarding the cause of death were immediately available.
Park has served in federal custody since his arrest at John F. Kennedy International Airport earlier this month, and has been accused of providing and trying to provide material assistance to terrorists.
He was accused of helping to secure 270 pounds of ammonium nitrate, an explosive precursor that can be used to build homemade bombs.
Photos of Daniel Park’s DMV handouts.
(FBI)
Bartkus, 25, is suspected of detonating a bomb at an American reproductive center in Palm Springs on May 17, killing himself and injuring four people. The explosion created a debris field that spreads out to 250 yards.
A few days after the bombing, authorities say the park departed the US for Europe. Polish law enforcement eventually detained him and sent him back to the United States, where he was taken into custody when he arrived in New York. According to the FBI affidavit, when Park faced Polish authorities, he tried to hurt himself. Park first appeared in federal court in Brooklyn before being moved to Los Angeles.
Park was accused of shipping around 180 pounds of ammonium nitrate in January and then paying an additional £90 for the chemicals shipped to Bartoks for the days leading up to the attack on Palm Springs.
Bill Essayli, a federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, said Park spent two weeks visiting Bartoks in Twentinnin Palms from late January to early February. Three days before Park arrived at his home, Berthos investigated how to use ammonium nitrate and fuel to make a powerful explosion, according to federal criminal charges.
Bartkus and Park is said to have carried out an experiment together in Bartkus’ garage. From there, the FBI recovered a large amount of chemical precursors and experimental equipment after the bombing.
According to the FBI assistant director at Los Angeles Aquil Davis, Park has similar ideologies to Bartos and posted on an internet forum dating back to 2016.
FBI case investigators and law enforcement sources characterize Berthos as having “anti-ideaist” visibility.
In a public online post, he argued that reproduction without the consent of the fetus is unethical and unjust in a world where environmental harm, violence, population and excessive suffering.
“Park’s social media posts show that he is trying to recruit others from like-minded ideologies,” Davis said. He added that the alleged partnership between Park and Bartos is one of “equal, mutually like-minded individuals who find themselves on the internet in these chat forums.”
“They don’t think people should exist,” Davis said.
According to Davis, a search warrant was held at a Park residence in Kent, Washington, where bombing agents were able to identify his role in the explosion.
Davis said six packages of ammonium nitrate have been shipped to Bartos from Park in Seattle. He said civil servants are awaiting the results of an analysis of explosive precursor chemicals shipped from the park.
The FBI described the Palm Springs explosion as strong enough to damage a building a few blocks away. “Perhaps the biggest bombing scene we had in Southern California,” and launched the 2018 spa bombing at Aliso Viejo.
Law enforcement sources previously told The Times that the bombers used so much explosives that the bomb shredded his body.
Law enforcement sources said the authorities recovered explosives from Berthos’ home and were skilled at assembling the explosive devices. He was also a longtime rocket builder.
Online trails, which authorities have delved into gathering insights into Bartks’ motivations, include a website dedicated to bombing Palm Springs. It features a 30-minute recording showing that site data was uploaded at the time of the explosion, and promises a video of the explosion (not posted). There are also YouTube videos under the web alias associated with Bartkus, as well as threads for Reddit and Suicide Forum.
In it, Bertus expressed disappointment at the death of his “best friend” Sophie. She died in April and is said to have been shot in the head by her partner. The man told police he was acting at her request.
Following the bombing, law enforcement recovered the mobile phone Bartkus had set up to record the bombing, according to an affidavit written by Andrew Bland. When authorities searched for their mobile phones, they found images showing cars parked outside the fertility clinic before the bombing. The image was labelled “Promoterism.”
The brand wrote that Berthos posted online “audio-recorded manifesto, countdowns to bombings, videos of suicide bombings” online.
In his manifesto, Brand wrote, admitting that Berthos was “producing destruction and death” by bombing the clinic.
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