Six California rioters plead guilty to violent Los Angeles anti-ICE highway attack

Six California protesters pleaded guilty this week to federal criminal charges stemming from a violent anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) attack at a Los Angeles highway overpass during a June 2025 riot. The defendants intentionally targeted law enforcement officers and committed crimes ranging from assault on police officers to setting a police vehicle on fire, according to the Department of Justice.

The incident occurred at the Main Street overpass on the 101 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles on June 8, 2025. All six defendants pleaded guilty to charges in the US District Court for the Central District of California. Three of the defendants pleaded guilty on Wednesday, while the other three individuals entered an admission of guilt on Monday.

All of the convictions stemmed from the same incident, where "the defendants were present at a civil disorder... that caused an immediate danger and resulted in damage to property or person of another individual," the press release states. Their group threw rocks, fireworks, and ignited debris at California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers trapped underneath a downtown Los Angeles freeway overpass, and set a CHP vehicle ablaze, according to court documents.

The three individuals convicted on Wednesday include Ismael Vega, 41, of Westlake, who pleaded guilty to one felony count of obstructing, impeding, and interfering with law enforcement during civil disorder; Balton Montion, 25, of Watsonville, who also pleaded guilty to one felony count of obstructing, impeding, and interfering with law enforcement during civil disorder; and Junior Roldan, 27, of Hollywood, who pleaded guilty to once misdemeanor count of simple assault on a person assisting a federal officer.

The other defendants convicted on Monday include Adam Charles Palermo, 40, of Rampart Village, who pleaded guilty to one felony count of assaulting, resisting, and impeding persons assisting federal officers and employees with a deadly or dangerous weapon; Yachua Mauricio Flores, 23, of Lincoln Heights, who pleaded guilty to one felony count of obstructing, impeding, and interfering with law enforcement during a civil disorder; and Ronald Alexis Coreas, 23, of Westlake, who pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of simple assault on a person assisting a federal officer.

According to court documents, Palermo, Vega, and Flores were a part of a group of agitators who collected debris, such as cardboard and vegetation, and fireworks. They then set the debris on fire and threw it over the railing of the freeway overpass, targeting a nearby CHP vehicle. The vehicle was within feet of CHP officers who were trapped under the overpass, and it later caught fire. Flores, who has been in custody since June of last year, poured a liquid, which exacerbated the flames.

Montion, Coreas, and Roldan hurled rocks at law enforcement officers while they were attempting to clear the freeway overpass of rioters.

Palermo faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, while the other five defendants face one to five years' prison sentences. The tumultuous anti-ICE riots prompted President Donald Trump to deploy both the National Guard and US Marines to protect federal property. The riots sparked following an immigration enforcement surge in Los Angeles County.