“Our country stands at the edge of a dangerous precipice as a growing segment of our society appears to reject these traditions, believing that violence is a legitimate means of protest.”
A domestic terrorist who admitted to a string of arsons and firebombing attempts targeting UC Berkeley and a federal courthouse that were inspired by Hamas has been sentenced to nearly two decades in prison. On Tuesday, US District Judge Jeffrey S. White sentenced Casey Robert Goonan, 35, of Oakland and Pleasant Hill, to 235 months in federal prison for multiple acts of politically motivated arson and attempted firebombing in June 2024.
Goonan pleaded guilty in January 2025 to maliciously damaging property by means of fire or explosives. Court records show Goonan admitted his attacks were motivated by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, terrorist assault on Israel. He also urged others to carry out destructive acts on Bay Area college campuses “in support of Palestine.” Prosecutors said Goonan sought to intimidate and retaliate against the U.S. and California governments through violence.
In one incident, on June 1, 2024, Goonan placed a bag filled with six Molotov cocktails beneath the fuel tank of a UC Berkeley Police Department vehicle parked near campus. The car was set ablaze after he ignited the devices. Days later, on June 11, he attempted to firebomb the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building and the US courthouse in Oakland, carrying three Molotov cocktails and hurling rocks at windows before fleeing from protective service officers. He also set multiple other fires on UC Berkeley’s campus throughout June 2024.
At sentencing, the court referred to Goonan as a “domestic terrorist.” Prosecutors emphasized that the violence could have cost lives had it been more successful. “This domestic terrorist could have taken untold lives had his violent attacks been more successful, and using the evils of Hamas as motivation speaks to his depravity,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg warned that such attacks reflect “a disturbing trend” of political violence:
“Now, our country stands at the edge of a dangerous precipice as a growing segment of our society appears to reject these traditions, believing that violence is a legitimate means of protest. This sentence is a sharp rebuke of that disastrous view.”
US Attorney Craig H. Missakian stressed the line between lawful protest and criminal conduct: Anyone who crosses the line between peaceful protest and violence will be met with the full force of the law.”
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