Man allegedly connected to California fertility clinic bomber arrested at JFK: source

An individual allegedly linked to the primary suspect in a car bombing outside a Palm Springs fertility clinic has been arrested, Fox News has learned. 

The suspect, identified as 32-year-old Daniel Park, was arrested at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City overnight, and is charged with providing and attempting to provide material support to a terrorist.  Park is being prosecuted by the Central District of California. 

Park allegedly supplied Guy Edward Bartkus with the materials needed to construct the explosives, with the last shipment arriving just days before the attack, according to United States Attorney Bill Essayli.  

PALM SPRINGS FERTILITY CLINIC BOMBER DOCUMENTED PLANS IN CHILLING ONLINE POSTS BEFORE ATTACK

“Law enforcement learned that Park spent approximately two weeks visiting [the primary suspect’s] residence in 29 Palms in late January and early February of this year, spending time together running experiments [in the suspect’s] garage, where the FBI recovered large quantities of chemical precursors and laboratory equipment after the bombing,” Essayli said in a news conference. 

Park traveled to Poland in the days following the bombing, where he was arrested by local authorities on May 30 and deported back to the United States. Authorities were unable to confirm if Park initially traveled abroad in an attempt to flee the country. 

A search of Park’s home in Kent, Washington revealed six packages of explosive materials, according to authorities, leading them to believe the items were allegedly mailed to Southern California prior to the attack. 

PALM SPRINGS BOMBING SUSPECT IDENTIFIED

Fox News Digital was unable to immediately identify an attorney representing Park. 

Attorney General Pam Bondi worked to secure the expulsion and subsequent arrest of Park, according to the Department of Justice. 

“Bringing chaos and violence to a facility that exists to help women and mothers is a particularly cruel, disgusting crime that strikes at the very heart of our shared humanity,” Bondi said in a statement. “We are grateful to our partners in Poland who helped get this man back to America and we will prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law.”

Last month, 25-year-old Bartkus was identified as the perpetrator behind the bombing outside the American Reproductive Centers facility. Four people were injured and Bartkus was killed in the blast. 

Surveillance footage and online postings show Bartkus parking behind the building before ingesting drugs and detonating the explosive device. 

Authorities allege Park and Bartkus targeted the center in an attempt to destroy human embryos stored on-site after being motivated by a fringe “pro-mortalism” ideology movement, which views human reproduction as immoral while believing death is preferable to life. 

ANTISEMITIC SHOOTING OF ISRAELI DIPLOMATS ADDS TO ALARMING RISE IN DOMESTIC TERRORISM

“They don’t believe that new life should be created, [or] that it should not be created without consent,” Essayli said. “That is the reason that we believe they likely targeted the location that they did. That’s why we’re calling this a terrorist attack. The location was not a coincidence.”

The FBI has classified the bombing as an act of domestic terrorism while pointing to the suspects’ ideological motivation as the cause of the violence. The organization previously confirmed none of the embryos were harmed in the attack. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“I received a call saying there was a massive explosion that destroyed a couple of our buildings,” Dr. Maher Abdallah, the clinic’s director, said in a social media post after the attack. “My biggest concern was obviously my staff and the embryos we have in storage. Fortunately for us, our staff was unharmed and the IVF lab is intact, untouched, unharmed. The embryos are safe.”

The FBI declined Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

“We have no further comments,” Abdallah said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “It’s still an ongoing investigation. We trust law enforcement and the FBI in their investigation. 

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman and Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report. 

Read More

​U.S. News Today on Fox News 139d5c5a-f5d8-5d09-9420-b6dd5a158338, fnc, Fox News, fox-news/us/terror/bombings, fox-news/us/us-regions/west/california, fox-news/us/new-york-city, fox-news/us/crime/police-and-law-enforcement, fox-news/world/terrorism, fox-news/tech/topics/fbi, fox-news/us, fox-news/us, article 

​