Six men pleaded guilty this week to federal criminal charges for throwing rocks, ignited fireworks, and burning debris at California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers trapped under a downtown freeway overpass during anti-immigration enforcement riots last year, prosecutors announced April 29.
The violence occurred at the Main Street overpass on the 101 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles on June 8, 2025, when rioters targeted law enforcement officers during protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations.
Anti-immigration enforcement demonstrations kicked off in the downtown Los Angeles area on June 6, 2025, when federal authorities began conducting operations at several downtown sites, arresting 44 illegal immigrants.
Within hours of the start of operations, labor union and local officials publicly denounced the federal arrests and tensions escalated, leading to clashes between police and protesters over the following three days.
On April 27, three defendants entered guilty pleas.
Adam Charles Palermo, 40, of Rampart Village, pleaded guilty to one felony count of assaulting, resisting, and impeding persons assisting federal officers and employees with a deadly or dangerous weapon.
Yachua Marucio Flores, 23, of Lincoln Heights, pleaded guilty to one felony count of obstructing, impeding, and interfering with law enforcement during a civil disorder.
Ronald Alexis Coreas, 23, of Westlake, also pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of simple assault on a person assisting a federal officer.
On April 29, another three individuals pleaded guilty.
Ismael Vega, 41, of Westlake, pleaded guilty to one felony count of obstructing, impeding, and interfering with law enforcement during a civil disorder.
Balton Montion, 25, of Watsonville, who was a Los Angeles County resident in 2025, pleaded guilty to one felony count of obstructing, impeding, and interfering with law enforcement during a civil disorder.
Junior Roldan, 27, of Hollywood, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of simple assault on a person assisting a federal officer.
Prosecutors claimed in court documents that Palermo, Vega, and Flores were part of a group of protesters who picked up cardboard and vegetation, and lit fireworks before throwing these items off the overpass toward the CHP vehicle below, which was next to CHP officers trapped under the bridge.
The vehicle caught fire during the riot, according to prosecutors.
Flores allegedly poured a liquid on the fire that increased the size of the flames, prosecutors said.
Law enforcement and demonstrators clash during a protest following federal immigration operations, in the Compton neighborhood of Los Angeles early on June 8, 2025. (Etienne Laurent / AFP)
Montion, Coreas, and Roldan allegedly threw rocks at the officers below, who tried to clear the freeway overpass, according to court documents.
U.S. District Judge John Walter scheduled sentencing hearings in the coming months for the defendants.
Palermo faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
Vegas, Montion, and Flores each face a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison, while Roldan and Coreas face maximum sentences of one year.
Palermo has been in federal custody since August 2025. The others remain free on bond, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles.
Another defendant in the case, Jesus Gonzalez Hernandez, Jr., 22, of Las Vegas, is scheduled to plead guilty on May 4 to one misdemeanor count of simple assault on a person assisting a federal officer.
