So at this writing, authorities have identified the person who bombed the American Reproductive Centers fertility clinic in Palm Beach, California as Guy Edward Bartkus, a 26-year-old man who adhered to a belief system known as “pro-mortalism,” a radical form of anti-natalism that posits that bringing new life into the world is evil — and so death is the answer.
Essentially, Bartkus felt that he didn’t ask to be born and never should have been (on that point, we agree).
The Ops Desk has linked Bartkus to online social media accounts which we are not naming here. But the below postings speak for themselves.
Bartkus, who does not appear to have a work footprint and who at 26 years old apparently lived in reduced circumstances with his mother, appears to have had very few visible interests outside of gaming, bombs, and death.
A viewing of his posted videos shows the progression of his obsession with explosives. Here’s his earliest one, involving a detonation of a hydrogen-filled balloon:
From there, Bartkus appears to progress in the size of his detonations. Here are subsequent videos, in chronological order, going from 35g of explosive to 40g to 120:
This last one clearly shows him escalating.
Then on May 5 Bartkus appears to have posted to a web forum of like-minded individuals the below, detailing that he had created his final “device”:
Then, the day before he did what he did — and thank God no one else was fatally injured — he posted the below, which is essentially a suicide note:
His m.o. was apparently to drive to the clinic and park in the rear lot, allowing him to remain unobserved for the “hour” he refers to. It also presumably allowed him to target the embryos that were his objective, as opposed to the administrative area that was likely at the building’s front.
He then presumably took the drugs, triggered the device, and passed out at some point… never to wake.
As we’ve noted in this space before, the case is being investigated as terrorism because of the ideological component. The basic formula is:
ideology + violence = terrorism
There are nuances of course, and the case law is always developing. But that’s essentially it. If you commit a crime — generally, a violent one is required — in service to some political or religious ideology with which you hope to coerce the population, you are in the terrorism crosshairs of law enforcement. (Note that the FBI has exclusive jurisdiction on terrorism at the federal level).
Bartkus’s belief system is a new one on us. We’ve heard of “climate change activists” who don’t believe in bringing new humans into the world (Rhodes scholar/government freeloader AOC is apparently among these). And this “pro-mortalism” seems to have both elements of the left and the right. But an online scrub seems to indicate that, while there are other adherents to this idiocy out there, they appear to be (thankfully) few.
Still, counter-terrorism officials now have a new bucket of extremists to worry about and attempt to track. A group that is, by definition, dedicated to the kind of thing Bartkus did here.
At this point, it looks like most of this particular case is clear to authorities. Unless there are some unapprehended co-conspirators, Bartkus’s death likely ends most of this one.
But there could always be someone out there who assisted or encouraged him in building those devices….
And we also note: He reportedly had two assault rifles with him. Was he planning on shooting it out with authorities, if they had been alerted to him early? Feels likely.
Meaning: This could actually have been much worse.
In the end, as much as authorities try, those best-positioned to step in and prevent this sort of thing are the friends and family of the perpetrator. Let’s hope that, if nothing else, this case alerts others to this nihilistic “pro-mortalism” nonsense.
It represents yet another risk vector out there for the many in our younger generations who are being raised on online lunacy .
This is jihad, minus the Islam.