Illegal Immigrant from Mexico Sentenced to 4 Years in Federal Prison for Throwing Molotov Cocktail at LASD Deputies During Anti-ICE Riot

LOS ANGELES – An illegal immigrant from Mexico was sentenced today to 48 months in federal prison for lighting and throwing a Molotov cocktail at law enforcement during an anti-immigration enforcement riot in Paramount last year.

Emiliano Garduño Gálvez, 23, of Paramount, was sentenced by United States District Judge André Birotte Jr. 

Gálvez pleaded guilty in October 2025 to one count of possession of an unregistered destructive device and one count of obstructing, impeding, or interfering with law enforcement during a civil disorder. He has been in federal custody since June 2025.

“This defendant’s reckless behavior threatened the lives and safety of law enforcement officers and that of a lawful protester,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “My office remains steadfast in its efforts to prosecute and punish those who commit acts of violence against others.”

On June 7, 2025, in Paramount, Gálvez was present during a civil disorder, a public disturbance involving acts of violence by an assemblage of more than three people that caused immediate danger of and resulted in damage to property or other people. 

Specifically, groups of individuals in Paramount amassed around federal personnel, and later local law enforcement, all of whom were lawfully engaged in the performance of their official duties. The demonstration’s purpose was to protest the federal enforcement of immigration laws in Los Angeles County.

For several hours, the group threw objects, including rocks or chunks of cinder blocks, at federal and local law enforcement, lit objects on fire, and set off fireworks in the direction of law enforcement. Law enforcement declared the protest an unlawful assembly. 

The civil disorder interfered with a federally protected function, namely, the coordination of federal agencies’ personnel and preparation for immigration enforcement activities. Rioters also caused The Home Depot, a local business, to temporarily close, and they stole store products during the disorder.

The streets in this area were blocked by the civil disorder and objects individuals lit on fire, affecting access to The Home Depot and other businesses in the area.

Hiding behind a stone wall, Gálvez lit and threw a Molotov cocktail towards Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) deputies who were on duty in Paramount during the civil disorder. Gálvez admitted he threw the Molotov cocktail intending to obstruct, interfere with, and impede the sheriff’s deputies who were lawfully engaged in their official duties.

The Molotov cocktail Gálvez threw landed in a grassy area near the foot of a protestor in the crowd and approximately 15 feet from LASD deputies. Gálvez had never registered this Molotov cocktail, nor any destructive device, with the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. He then fled the area.

“[Gálvez] threw an incendiary device capable of killing someone,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “And his destructive device came far closer to injuring a civilian holding a sign, as opposed to [Gálvez’s] intended target – the sheriff’s deputies.”

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated this matter with the assistance of the FBI and LASD.

Assistant United States Attorney Jenna W. Long of the National Security Division prosecuted this case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.