Authorities are checking out some pretty wild stuff that the Palm Springs bombing suspect apparently posted online before the attack at a fertility clinic on Saturday. The FBI is taking a look at a manifesto and other content to see if they belong to Guy Edward Bartkus, a 25-year-old dude with some nihilistic thoughts who they think died in the explosion. One thing that caught their eye is that the author of the manifesto straight-up threatened to attack a fertility clinic. Bartkus is thought to be the one who set off a huge bomb outside the American Reproductive Centers, causing a ton of damage.
Bartkus was living in Twentynine Palms, which is where the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center is located, claiming to be the largest Marine Corps training base in the world. But hey, fun fact, Bartkus wasn’t even a Marine, according to Yvonne Carlock, a Marine spokesperson. The Times hasn’t been able to confirm if Bartkus had any other connections to the base that would’ve given him access to explosives. As authorities were searching his neighborhood this past weekend, neighbors who spoke to The Times mentioned that they had no clue who he was. Victoria and Austin Shupe, a couple of artists who recently moved to Twentynine Palms, were surprised when they found out his name because they had never seen him or heard of him before.
The FBI described the Palm Springs explosion as the biggest bombing scene in Southern California, even bigger than the one in Aliso Viejo back in 2018. They’re still trying to figure out what kind of explosives were used and how the suspect got his hands on them. The blast left a car wrecked near the clinic and killed a person who they think was Bartkus. They’re not sure if he meant to kill himself in the process. Law enforcement sources shared with The Times that the bomber used a crazy amount of explosives, so much so that it pretty much obliterated his remains. They believe the suspect was near a silver Ford Fusion sedan at the time of the explosion, possibly trying to livestream the whole thing. The clinic posted pics showing the building’s roof caved in, debris scattered everywhere, and smoke pouring out.
So, this online website connected to the bombing laid out some interesting ideas about starting “a war against pro-lifers” and targeting a fertilization clinic. The author of the manifesto seemed to be into some offbeat philosophies like abolitionist veganism and negative utilitarianism. There was even talk of pro-mortalism, which is all about ending life to prevent future suffering. The FBI isn’t confirming if Bartkus was the one who wrote it, but they’re keeping an eye on it as part of their investigation. In the manifesto, the author ranted about bringing human life into the world and wanting to sterilize the planet of life. There was also a 30-minute audio file where the speaker talked about why he decided to bomb the clinic, mentioning how angry he was about being brought into this world without his consent.
Experts like Brian Levin from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism think the author of the manifesto was part of a group of isolated individuals getting radicalized online through obscure sites and misinformation. Even though the antinatalism movement doesn’t condone violence, the suspect’s rants paint a different picture of a young guy consumed by despair and embracing an anti-life ideology. The FBI task force is teaming up with local and federal agencies to dig into leads and find out where the explosives came from. They’re asking the public for help in tracking Bartkus’ movements before the explosion and are facing challenges due to the extensive damage caused by the bomb. Times staff writers Melody Gutierrez, Julia Wick, and Rebecca Plevin contributed to this story.
