Federal authorities announced charges this morning against a Paramount man accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail during a standoff between protestors and Border Patrol agents on Saturday in Paramount.
Emiliano Garduno Galvez, 22, of Paramount, was charged with possession of an unregistered destructive device, a Molotov cocktail, which prosecutors allege he threw over a stone wall around 7:15 p.m. on Saturday on Alondra Boulevard near Hunsaker Avenue.
A social media video of the incident showed a flaming object suddenly appear over the stone wall and land on the grass near a group of protesters, who rush away at the sight of the flames.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies who were walking a few feet from where the flaming bottle landed then rushed in to search for the person who hurled it.
If the Molotov cocktail had struck someone, it could have caused “life-altering or life-ending injuries,” said Bill Essayli, United States Attorney for the Central District of California.
If convicted of possession of an unregistered destructive device, Galvez could face up to 10 years in federal prison, according to prosecutors.
After allegedly throwing the device, Galvez ran southbound on Hunsaker Avenue before deputies stopped him, then let him go. Galvez lives about a half-mile from where the protest had formed on Alondra Boulevard.
Prosecutors allege Galvez was captured in news footage, clad in black clothing, wearing a black mask and holding a glass bottle with liquid and a wick inside.
The video also shows the man with a lighter in his right hand, along with a tattoo on his right hand and wrist, according to prosecutors.
On Monday, Homeland Security Investigations officers arrested Galvez on suspicion of overstaying a travel visa that allowed him to enter the United States in December 2014, according to prosecutors.
Pictures taken after his arrest showed Galvez had tattoos on his right hand and wrist that “appear to be the same tattoos visible on the video,” prosecutors said.
The charges also cited past arrests. In September 2024, Galvez was taken into custody by Long Beach police on suspicion of DUI and hit-and-run involving property damage. He was released without bail after that arrest.
Prosecutors say another man, Wrackkie Quiogue, 27, of Long Beach, also threw a Molotov cocktail at a protest Sunday in Downtown LA.
Around 5 p.m. on Sunday, a Los Angeles Police Department officer spotted Quiogue near the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building on East Temple Street with a clear bottle in his hand with a yellow rag sticking out of it, according to prosecutors.
As LAPD officers approached him, he allegedly threw the Molotov cocktail into the air and attempted to run.
Officers arrested him a short time later and collected a lighter along with a sample of the fluid in the bottle, which tested positive for a flammable liquid, according to prosecutors.
If convicted of possession of an unregistered destructive device, Quiogue could face up to 10 years in federal prison, according to prosecutors.
At a news conference Wednesday, Essayli said authorities are looking at “hundreds of people” captured on social media and body-worn camera carrying out various aggressive acts during ongoing protests against immigration enforcement in the region.
“If you took part in these riots and were looking to cause trouble, we will come looking for you,” Essayli said.
On Monday, the FBI identified a Compton man who allegedly threw rocks at law enforcement vehicles leaving Saturday’s standoff in Paramount, where protestors had barricaded the street while dozens of Border Patrol agents fired tear gas and rubber bullets. The FBI offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction.