Man charged with setting fire at Peoria Planned Parenthood
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A central Illinois man is facing federal charges accusing him of setting fire to a Planned Parenthood facility in Peoria last week, because he was upset his girlfriend had an abortion three years ago.
Tyler Massengill, 32, of Chillicothe, is charged with one count of malicious use of fire and an explosive to damage, and attempt to damage, property used in and affecting interstate commerce.
According to the charges, the Planned Parenthood Peoria Health Center was set on fire around 11:20 p.m. on Jan. 15.
One firefighter was hurt while putting out the flames. No one was inside the building at the time of the fire.
Surveillance video showed a man in a coat with the hood pulled up, and possibly a mask, walk up to the building with a laundry-detergent-sized bottle, the light a rag on fire on one end of the bottle, before breaking a window, and placing the bottle inside the building, and running away.
Additional surveillance video showed a white pickup truck with red doors parking nearby just before the fire, and then leaving moments afterward. After the footage was released to the press, a tipster provided a license plate number for the truck to Peoria police, who traced the truck to Massengill.
On Monday, a woman in Sparland, about 25 miles north of Peoria, contacted local authorities to report Massengill had shown up at her home on the day after the fire, and asked to keep his truck in her garage, and arranged for her to paint the red doors white for $300.
Massengill stayed at her home that night, and the next day her father drove Massengill and her boyfriend to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, and then took Massengill to his father's home in Chillicothe, about 20 miles north of Peoria.
When the woman called Massengill the next day to come and get his truck, he told her he had seen his truck on the news, and claimed "I didn't do it, I didn't do it."
On Tuesday, Massengill called Peoria Police and said he wanted to talk about the fire at the Planned Parenthood facility. At first, during an interview with police and the FBI, Massengill denied responsibility for the fire, claiming he had gone to Peoria on Jan. 15 and let two men borrow his truck, according to the charges.
He later confessed to setting the fire, telling investigators he'd been in a relationship with a girlfriend three years before, and while he was working in Alaska, his girlfriend called him from Peoria to tell him she'd gotten pregnant, and chose to have an abortion, which upset him.
According to the charges, Massengill said he "heard or saw something that reminded him of the abortion" on the day he set the fire, and he got upset, and broke the window of the Planned Parenthood facility, and placed a burning container inside. He also confirmed he later drove his truck to a woman's house and asked her to paint the doors white.
Massengill also told investigators he believed, if setting fire at the Planned Parenthood caused "a little delay" in someone receiving services there, it might have been "all worth it," according to the charges.
If convicted, Massengill faces 5 to 20 years in prison.
In a statement, Planned Parenthood of Illinois CEO Jennifer Welch said the damage to the Peoria facility was "extensive," and estimated it will cost more than $1 million to rebuild.
"We are pleased an arrest has been made in the firebombing," Welch said. "The repairs will take numerous months before we can reopen stronger than ever. This senseless act of vandalism has robbed the community of access to birth control, cancer screenings, STI testing and treatment, and gender-affirming care as well as medication abortion services. We appreciate the outpouring of support from the community, state, and nation as we continue to meet our patients' needs through telehealth and at our other 16 health centers across the state."
