Two Los Angeles County men were charged with possessing Molotov cocktails during recent protests in downtown Los Angeles and Paramount stemming from federal immigration enforcement operations, federal officials announced Wednesday.
Emiliano Garduno Galvez, 23, of Paramount, and Wrackkie Quiogue, 27, of Long Beach, were each charged in federal court with possession of an unregistered destructive device, which carries a possible sentence of up to 10 years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Both defendants are in custody. Quiogue was ordered to remain detained during his initial court appearance on Tuesday. Galvez is expected to make his first appearance before a magistrate judge in Los Angeles federal court in the coming days.
According to an affidavit filed with the complaint against Galvez, on Saturday night in Paramount, Galvez allegedly lit and threw a Molotov cocktail over a wall where Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies were engaging in crowd control, then ran away.
Federal officials said a crowd had gathered in that area earlier in the day near a staging area for federal agents who were preparing for an immigration enforcement operation.
An affidavit filed with the Quiogue charges contend that he possessed a Molotov cocktail on Sunday while holding a lighter during protests near the federal buildings in downtown Los Angeles. The document contends Los Angeles Police Department officers saw Quiogue with the device and quickly arrested him, but he threw the device as he was attempting to flee.
“When protesting crosses the line into violence, the penalties will be severe,” U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement. “Possessing a Molotov cocktail or another destructive device is punishable by up to 10 years in federal prison.”
Essayli continued, “The vile attacks such as the ones alleged in these complaints could have resulted in life-altering or life-ending injuries to police officers, sheriff’s deputies, and innocent bystanders. We will not relent in dispensing swift justice to criminals who take advantage of our country’s freedoms to engage in lawlessness.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office also announced that Christian Andres Garcia, 32, of Anaheim, and Rene Luna, 43, of Orange, were charged with assault on a federal officer, a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in federal prison, stemming from violence at recent rallies in Santa Ana.
Both defendants are expected to make their initial appearances in federal court in Santa Ana in the coming days.
According to court documents, Garcia allegedly threw objects at law enforcement personnel stationed outside a Homeland Security Investigations office in Santa Ana on Monday. Luna allegedly threw water bottles and beer cans at officers during the same protest.