Previously Deported Illegal Migrant Pleads Guilty To Throwing Molotov Cocktail At Deputies
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An illegal migrant pleaded guilty Wednesday to attacking law enforcement with a Molotov cocktail during the anti-immigration enforcement riots that erupted in Los Angeles earlier this year.
Emiliano Garduno-Galvez, a 23-year-old Mexican national who had previously been deported, admitted to possessing an unregistered destructive device and engaging in civil disorder, according to a plea deal first reported by the Los Angeles Times. He is scheduled to be sentenced in January and could face up to 15 years in prison.
Federal prosecutors say that on June 7, in Paramount, California, Garduno-Galvez lit and hurled a Molotov cocktail over a wall where Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies were working to contain violent unrest sparked by anti-immigration protesters.
It turns out that Emiliano Garduno-Galvez — the Mexican national charged with attempted murder after throwing a Molotov cocktail at federal officers during the violent riots in Los Angeles — already had a criminal record.
Last year, he was arrested twice by local police… pic.twitter.com/MaV9ZdwWkp
— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) June 12, 2025
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) tracked down and arrested him two days later. Prosecutors initially charged him with attempted murder. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that Garduno-Galvez not only re-entered the U.S. illegally but also had prior arrests, including grand theft in Anaheim and DUI in Long Beach.
“Emiliano Garduno-Galvez is a criminal illegal alien from Mexico who threatened the lives of federal law enforcement officers by attacking them with a Molotov cocktail during the violent riots in Los Angeles,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “These are the types of criminal illegal aliens that rioters are fighting to protect.”
The riots escalated in early June as anti-ICE demonstrations spread across Los Angeles in response to President Trump’s immigration crackdown. More than 1,000 rioters stormed a federal building, vandalized government property, attacked agents, and destroyed vehicles, ICE reported at the time.
Hundreds of arrests were made, and officials estimated millions in damages. Yet the agency continued operations despite the unrest. By August, DHS announced its 5,000th arrest in the Los Angeles area.
“That’s 5,000 criminal illegal aliens, gang members, child predators, and murderers taken off our streets. Precious lives saved. Families protected. American taxpayers spared the cost of their crimes AND the burden of their benefits,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in August.
The Department of Justice has not yet commented publicly on Garduno-Galvez’s guilty plea.
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