Federal prosecutors on Wednesday announced charges against four men alleged to have been violent toward law enforcement officers at protests in Los Angeles and Orange counties in recent days.
During a news conference, U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli called the alleged attacks “vicious,” and accused the men of escalating the events of anti-ICE protests that took place in Paramount, downtown L.A. and Santa Ana.
“When protesting crosses the line into violence, the penalties will be severe,” Essayli said. “Possessing a Molotov cocktail or another destructive device is punishable by up to 10 years in federal prison. 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.”…