**Man Pleads Guilty to Throwing Molotov Cocktail at LA Sheriff’s Deputies During Immigration Protests**
LOS ANGELES — A 23-year-old man has pleaded guilty to throwing a Molotov cocktail at Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies during protests against immigration raids that swept across the region last spring.
Emiliano Garduno Galvez, a Mexican national who authorities say is in the U.S. illegally, admitted Wednesday to possessing an unregistered destructive device and civil disorder in connection with his actions on June 7 in Paramount. He faces up to 15 years in prison when he is sentenced on January 30.
Sheriff’s deputies responded to a large protest that day, during which demonstrators threw rocks and other objects outside a Home Depot where U.S. Border Patrol agents had gathered.
According to the plea agreement obtained by the Los Angeles Times, Galvez admitted that he went behind a wall, lit the Molotov cocktail, and hurled it toward the location where he had seen deputies. The incendiary device landed in a grassy area near the foot of a protester and about 15 feet (4.5 meters) from the deputies.
After throwing the device, Galvez said he ran away.
The plea agreement states that Galvez threw the Molotov cocktail “intending to obstruct, interfere with, and impede the LASD deputies who were lawfully engaged in performance of official duties.”
While many demonstrations against the June immigration crackdown were peaceful—featuring marchers chanting slogans and carrying signs—others escalated into clashes with police, resulting in hundreds of arrests and the use of chemical irritants to disperse crowds.
https://abc7.com/post/man-pleads-guilty-throwing-molotov-cocktail-deputies-during-paramount-immigration-protest/17926454/