A 54-year-old Koreatown man has pleaded guilty to throwing two Molotov cocktails inside a federal building in downtown Los Angeles, admitting he hurled one incendiary device through an employee entrance and another through the public entrance where people were waiting to go through security screening. Jose Francisco Jovel now faces sentencing on Jan. 28 after entering his plea to charges tied to the attack at the federal building at 300 N. Los Angeles St.
Guilty Plea Follows December Attack
Jovel pleaded guilty to one count of assault on a person assisting federal officers or employees and one count of possession of unregistered or unlawfully manufactured destructive devices, according to Redlands Daily Facts. The federal building houses offices for several federal agencies, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.
Molotov cocktails are hand-thrown incendiary weapons made from breakable containers filled with flammable substances and fitted with fuses, and prosecutors said Jovel attempted to light at least one of the devices before throwing it. No one was injured in the attack, though the Los Angeles Times reported there was charring and burning where the first device landed. Los Angeles police and fire crews evacuated a portion of the federal building, and a stretch of Los Angeles Street between Temple and Aliso streets was temporarily closed.
Eviction Notice Preceded the Attack
Authorities said Jovel was motivated by anger at the federal government over its immigration policies and actions. The same account notes he confessed to setting fire to his own Koreatown apartment about four hours before arriving at the federal building, after receiving an eviction notice.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Jovel described his own actions as “a terrorist attack.” He said, “You're separating families,” then yelled for people to “start shooting these,” referring to the officers, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Additional Devices and Weapons Found
A search of Jovel's bags turned up a flame torch, two airsoft guns, five knives and pepper spray, the Los Angeles Times reported. Accounts differ on how many additional firebomb devices investigators recovered: the Redlands Daily Facts seed reporting states Jovel's bags contained seven additional Molotov cocktails, while the Los Angeles Times reported investigators found five additional firebomb devices along with a lighter.
The case echoes other federal firebombing prosecutions across California in recent years. In the Bay Area, Casey Robert Goonan faced charges and sentencing related to UC Berkeley and an attempted firebombing of a federal building, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. A Palm Desert man also pleaded guilty to a federal arson charge after admitting he used a Molotov cocktail in an attempt to destroy a Republican club office in La Quinta, per the Department of Justice.
Jovel is scheduled for sentencing on Jan. 28, closing out a case that began with a plea tied to charges filed after his arrest on suspicion of tossing the two improvised explosive devices inside the downtown federal building.
