POLITICS: Suspect in Palm Springs Fertility Clinic Bombing ‘Act of Intentional Terrorism’ by 25-year-old with ‘Nihilistic Ideations’ – USSA News

Federal authorities have tentatively identified the individual behind Saturday’s bombing at a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, which injured four people, as Guy Edward Bartkus, a 25-year-old man described as harboring “nihilistic ideations,” according to the FBI.

Officials believe Bartkus died in the explosion at the American Reproductive Centers, with investigators treating the blast as an “act of intentional terrorism.”

“We believe he was the subject found by the vehicle,” said Akil Davis, assistant director in charge at the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, referring to a silver 2010 Ford Fusion located near the scene of the explosion.

Davis said investigators suspect the attacker attempted to livestream the bombing, calling the scene likely “the largest bombing scene that we’ve had in Southern California,” surpassing the 2018 explosion at a day spa in Aliso Viejo.

Sources within law enforcement informed The Los Angeles Times that the bomb used was extremely powerful — powerful enough to destroy the attacker’s body — and they believe he may not have intended to die. These officials noted Bartkus appeared to identify as “anti-life,” aligning himself with anti-natalist beliefs that see reproduction as unethical. He was reportedly active in online spaces with others who held similar views and may have been emotionally affected by a friend’s recent passing.

Investigators are reviewing a range of digital evidence, including a manifesto posted online, social media activity, and a YouTube account with content related to explosives; the FBI is still verifying the authenticity of these materials. Evidence shows the individual had intended to live stream the attack.

The Los Angeles Times reports there is a website believed to be connected to the bombing which advocated for “a war against pro-lifers” and indicated that a fertility clinic would be targeted. “Here you can download the recorded stream of my suicide & bombing of an IVF clinic,” the homepage declared, though no such file was found. The site also referenced various fringe ideologies, including “abolitionist veganism” and “negative utilitarianism.”

“Basically, I’m a pro-mortalist,” the site’s author stated, endorsing the controversial belief that early death for sentient beings is preferable to prolonged existence filled with suffering.

The Times has not independently verified that Bartkus authored the website. Domain records indicate it was registered in February. Davis declined to say whether Bartkus was the writer of the manifesto, only acknowledging that authorities are “tracking a possible manifesto out there, and it’s part of our ongoing investigation.”

Bartkus resided in Twentynine Palms, the site of the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, the largest Marine training base globally. However, Marine Corps spokesperson Yvonne Carlock confirmed that Bartkus was not enlisted and had no ties to the service.

It remains unclear if Bartkus had any connection to the military base that could have given him access to explosives.

In the manifesto, the author condemned those who procreate and declared a mission to “sterilize this planet of the disease of life.” One excerpt read, “Life can only continue as long as people hold the delusional belief that it is not a zero sum game causing senseless torture, and messes it can never, or only partially, clean up.”

An accompanying 30-minute audio file titled “pre” began with the speaker saying he planned to “explain why I’ve decided to bomb an IVF building or clinic.”

“Basically, it just comes down to I’m angry that I exist and that, you know, nobody got my consent to bring me here,” he said.

“Our lab — including all eggs, embryos, and reproductive materials — remains fully secure and undamaged,” the clinic posted in a statement. “Our mission has always been to help build families, and in times like these, we are reminded of just how fragile and precious life is.”

A law enforcement bulletin reviewed by The Times indicated the suspect may have become more despondent following Sophie’s death.

“I’ve never related to someone so much, and can’t imagine I ever would again,” the author wrote. He described their shared identities as “anti-sex misandrists” and “VegAntinatalists,” adding they both had “borderline personality ‘disorder.’ ” The site also suggested a pact between them: “If one of us died, the other would probably soon follow.”

Brian Levin, founding director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism and a professor emeritus at Cal State San Bernardino, commented that the manifesto aligns with a broader pattern of lone actors radicalized in obscure internet communities.

“The antinatalism movement he links to specifically condemns violence,” Levin noted. “Still, his purported rambling, idiosyncratic ‘political’ statements paint a far different picture — that of a hopeless unstable young man whose suicidal despair stirs him into a self-consuming brutal death justified by a personally distorted embrace of an obscure anti-life ideology.”