California officials at the local and federal levels have brought new felony charges against rioters who committed violence in Los Angeles earlier this month in protest of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Trump administration’s hard-line immigration agenda.
LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman and U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli announced the charges at a Tuesday press conference. Some of the federal and state charges concerned attempted arson of police vehicles and assault of law enforcement officers.
Five people, who Hochman said belonged to a “relatively small segment” of protesters, were implicated in Tuesday’s charges.
“This group wanted to commit crimes,” Hochman, an independent and former Republican federal prosecutor, said. “They looked at the protest as a cover, an opportunity to go ahead and ply their illegal trade and commit a whole variety of crimes that, in many ways, has done a huge disservice to the legitimate protesters out there.”
The district attorney pushed back against media reports suggesting the city is “under siege.” Over 99% of people protested “legitimately” and “peacefully” over the past two weeks, he clarified.
Still, Hochman warned rioters would face punishment and listed the charges to reporters.
William Rubio, 23, was charged with two felony counts of assaulting a police officer and using a destructive device to injure or destroy after throwing fireworks toward law enforcement. Authorities found 23 individual fireworks in his backpack upon the June 8 arrest, according to Hochman. If convicted, Rubio faces up to eight years and eight months in prison.
Adam Palermo, 39, faces four felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, one felony count of arson, and one felony count of vandalism. The man allegedly threw a large rock at a California Highway Patrol vehicle from a highway overpass. He also allegedly lit an object on fire and hurled it at a similar vehicle parked on a California freeway. If convicted, Palermo faces up to nine years and eight months in prison.
The remaining charges for the other three criminal defendants included one felony count of possession of a firearm by a felon and one misdemeanor count of giving or receiving a large-capacity magazine, one felony count of pointing a laser at a Los Angeles Police Department helicopter, and one felony count of second-degree commercial burglary.
“While we will always defend the right to peacefully protest, we will not disregard criminal behavior that puts the lives of officers and others at risk or compromises public safety,” Hochman said. “There is a clear and distinct line between lawful expression and unlawful conduct. Our job as prosecutors is to ensure those who engage in violence and destruction are held accountable for their actions.”
The Los Angeles district attorney’s office filed an initial list of charges last week, with some related to looting and vandalism. Additional charges are expected.
TAXPAYERS FUNDED BOTH SIDES OF LOS ANGELES PROTESTS
The Trump administration has projected a zero-tolerance policy for violent protests directed at law enforcement. When the riots broke out this month, President Donald Trump authorized the deployment of the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles.
“As our president said, ‘If you spit, we hit,’” Essayli said, referring to a man who heckled and spat on a National Guard member and law enforcement officers, “and we will hit you with a felony.”
