By Emily Herr

The Scoop Digital Newspaper: June 2025

Los Angeles, CA – The complex and disturbing investigation into the May 17, 2025, car bombing of a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California, has taken a significant turn with the death of an alleged co-conspirator while in federal custody. Daniel Jongyon Park, 32, accused of providing material support for the attack, died on June 24, 2025, at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles, reportedly by suicide.

The bombing, which targeted the American Reproductive Centers, left the perpetrator, 25-year-old Guy Edward Bartkus of Twentynine Palms, dead at the scene and injured four others. Described by the FBI as one of the largest bombing investigations in Southern California since 2018, the incident caused extensive damage to the clinic building and surrounding properties. Thankfully, no staff members were harmed, and the clinic reported that essential medical operations and stored embryos were not compromised.

Authorities swiftly identified Bartkus as the bomber, noting his “nihilistic views” and his self-identification as a “pro-mortalist” in a manifesto and a 30-minute audio recording left behind. In these communications, Bartkus expressed an ideology of “anti-natalism” and “anti-pro-life,” asserting that individuals should not be born without consent and that non-existence is preferable. His primary motivation for the attack was stated to be suicide.

The investigation quickly broadened to include Daniel Park, who, federal investigators allege, shared Bartkus’s extreme beliefs and had been posting anti-natalist ideologies online since 2016. According to court documents, Park allegedly supplied Bartkus with significant quantities of ammonium nitrate, a common precursor for homemade explosives. Evidence suggests Park shipped approximately 180 pounds of the chemical to Bartkus in January 2025 and later supplied an additional 90 pounds shortly before the bombing. Prosecutors further allege that Park visited Bartkus in Twentynine Palms for two weeks in early 2025, where they conducted “experiments” with explosives in Bartkus’s garage.

Park was arrested on June 3, 2025, at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, after fleeing to Warsaw, Poland, just four days after the bombing. He was charged with providing and attempting to provide material support to a terrorist.

His death in federal custody adds a new layer of complexity to an already high-profile case. Authorities reported that Park was found unresponsive at the Metropolitan Detention Center after he reportedly climbed to an upper level and jumped from a balcony. He was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased. The Bureau of Prisons stated that life-saving measures were initiated by responding employees, and no other individuals within the facility were injured in connection with the incident.

While Bartkus’s death in the initial blast closed the chapter on the primary perpetrator, Park’s death means that the full extent of the alleged conspiracy and the motivations behind this domestic terrorism act may never be completely unraveled through a court trial. The FBI and U.S. Marshals Service have been notified, and investigations into the circumstances surrounding Park’s death in custody are ongoing, as the community grapples with the aftermath of this shocking event.

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The Scoop Digital Newspaper
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