Protester Accused of Throwing 'Destructive Device' at CHP Cruiser from Overpass

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County prosecutors announced new charges Tuesday against people suspected of attacking the police during recent protests that rocked downtown L.A., including an incident in which a California Highway Patrol cruiser was set ablaze on the 101 Freeway.

District Attorney Nathan Hochman said 39-year-old Adam Palermo was charged with two counts of assault on a peace officer and two counts of using a destructive device in connection with the June 8 incident.

As he announced the charges, Hochman stood alongside a TV screen looping a video that allegedly shows Palermo dropping a flaming item onto the CHP vehicle during the first weekend of protests against the Trump administration's immigration raids.

That Sunday — the day after President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles over Gov. Gavin Newsom's objections — thousands of protesters took to downtown. A number of CHP vehicles and officers wound up parked underneath an overpass on the 101 after clearing protesters from the freeway late in the afternoon.

Palermo also allegedly threw a large rock at one of the CHP vehicles. Hochman displayed social media posts allegedly made by Palermo saying "of all the protests I've been involved in, which is well over a hundred now, I'm most proud of what I did today," accompanied by images and videos of the CHP cars being damaged and burned.

"It was not a productive day. It was a day of destruction," Hochman said.

Palermo will also face federal arson charges in relation to the same incident, according to U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli, who joined Hochman for the news conference.

Hochman said his office has brought charges against 30 people in relation to the protests since they first erupted 10 days ago. Essayli said he's brought about 20 cases, and both promised more prosecutions going forward.

In a separate alleged attack, Hochman said 23-year-old William Rubio threw fireworks at Los Angeles police officers responding to dumpster that had been set on fire near First and Spring Streets on June 8. When Rubio was arrested, police allegedly found eleven M-1000 fireworks in his backpack which Hochman likened to a "quarter stick of dynamite."

"These are lethal devices. Had any of these been thrown in a person's direction, they could have killed or maimed that person," Hochman said.

It was not immediately clear whether Rubio or Palermo had defense attorneys. Palermo is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday afternoon, according to a district attorney's office spokesman. Records show Rubio will be arraigned downtown on July 1.

Charges were also filed against defendants accused of firing a laser pointer at a police helicopter, being in possession of a firearm when they were detained for a curfew violation and breaking into an Apple store downtown that was being overrun by "looters," Hochman said.

Essayli announced one new case against a defendant who allegedly spit on a National Guard member and federal law enforcement officers during a confrontation outside a federal building.

"As our President said, 'If you spit, we hit,' and we will hit you with a felony," Essayli said.

L.A.'s top federal prosecutor also went into more detail about charges filed last week against Alejandro Orellana, who was charged with conspiracy to commit civil disorder and aiding and abetting civil disorder for handing out protective face shields to protesters.

Essayli said the masks were meant to protect "violent agitators" from law enforcement crowd control munitions, adding that a search of Orellana's home turned up a a bag of rocks, metal BB gun pellets and a notebook of anti-police scribbling including a page that read "Blue Lives Matter. 187," the California Penal Code section for murder.

Asked why providing defensive materials to demonstrators was a crime, Essayli scoffed at the idea that peaceful demonstrators would need protective equipment.

"He wasn't handing masks out at the beach," Essayli said. "He was handing them out in downtown L.A. to people who were dressed similarly to those committing violence. They were dressed in gear from top to bottom, they were covering their face, they were wearing backpacks. We've talked about what's been in the backpacks. You've got fireworks. You've got rocks… There's no legitimate reason why a peaceful protester needs a face shield."

Orellana faces at least five years in federal prison if convicted.

Essayli also reiterated his promise to go after "organizers and funders" of what he termed "violence" at protests. He hinted that the person who paid for the masks Orellana distributed could also face criminal charges.

Although some of the recent protest cases brought by Essayli's office have involved severe instances of violence against police — including cases where defendants are accused of hurling molotov cocktails or concrete blocks at deputies and officers — others have left legal experts wondering if the devout Trump appointee is straining to criminalize protest against the administration's policies.

Essayli maintained Tuesday that his office is only going after those responsible for causing unrest in recent days.

"These weren't peaceful protesters," he said of the people who received masks from Orellana. "They weren't holding up signs expressing a political message. They were agitators."

___

Visit at latimes.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.