BELLEVUE, Wash. — A man accused of attempting to burn down a Bellevue Planned Parenthood clinic is being held on $1 million bail after being charged with second-degree arson in King County Superior Court. Prosecutors charged Winston Churchill Corbett following a Sept. 18 incident at the clinic on NE 8th St in Bellevue. A judge also ordered a mental health evaluation for Corbett.
According to charging documents and a certification of probable cause prepared by Bellevue Police and the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, emergency crews responded to a fire alarm at the facility around 12:40 a.m.
Bellevue Fire Department personnel who arrived at the scene dealt with the fire but found two shattered windows and char marks on the glass and a windowsill, according to the documents. A Bellevue Police Officer detained Corbett, who was sitting alone on a curb in the parking lot near the building.
Investigators reported that Corbett walked from Seattle for roughly 2 to 3 hours to Bellevue carrying matches, pinecones, paper, and fire ignition starters. According to Bellevue Police, Corbett used a broken piece of a curb to shatter two windows.
Investigators say he tried to light up the pinecones, but couldn’t start a fire, so he instead used paper from a notepad to allegedly start the fire before firefighters arrived and put out the flames.
The documents say he was interviewed by police, and during that interview Corbett explained that his actions were driven by religious motivation following a period of sobriety. He indicated that he had read the Bible and that God said it was his duty to burn down cities and places that were not in line with Christian values. Corbett told officers he believed Planned Parenthood was part of that mission.
When asked how he felt after the incident, Corbett stated he felt “at peace.” The documents indicate that he also told officers he stayed at the scene because he wanted to go to jail to preach to inmates and hoped his actions would lead other Christians to say “enough’s enough.”
The Prosecutor filed a second-degree arson charge, and the office also requested bail in the amount of $1 million. The court documents filed by prosecutors detail Corbett’s criminal history, including misdemeanor convictions for theft, harassment, and a 2022 malicious mischief conviction involving a fire set at a Comfort Inn Suites.
At last check, he is still in custody.
Corbett’s next court date is scheduled for Oct. 8, 2026.
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