The Californian who was captured on video last year hurling large rocks at immigration officers during the anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles was slapped with three years in prison.
Elpidio Reyna, 42, was wearing a motorcycle helmet as he stood on the side of a road and pelted Customs and Border Protection vehicles driving by.
He pleaded guilty to one count of assault on a federal officer by deadly or dangerous force.
“Disagreeing with laws passed by Congress does not give you a right to assault federal officers,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli. “This defendant thought he would go unpunished for throwing large rocks at law enforcement. Instead, he’ll be serving time in federal prison, where he can reflect on his poor decision.”
Reyna was part of the mobs that rose up in Los Angeles in the summer of 2025 amid the first immigration enforcement surge of the Trump administration.
Officers from CBP and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were scouring a Home Depot in Paramount when a mob developed. Authorities said Reyna set fires in the road and threw rocks at the CB vehicles.
One rock shattered the window of a vehicle, showering the officer inside with glass and cutting his forehead.
Reyna would later say his actions were “emotional and fueled by alcohol.”
Reyna has been in jail since his arrest more than a year ago.
Prosecutors had sought a nearly four-year sentence.
Reyna’s lawyer, Marilyn Bednarski, had argued he should be released with time served.
She said Reyna’s behavior that day was “aberrant” and explained by “the emotional community response to the immigration service’s violent invasion.”
She also said the fact that President Trump granted clemency to those who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, should argue for leniency.
And she said the officers who served the arrest warrant on Reyna damaged his gate, his van and his living room carpet, plus caused his dog to run away. The dog was never found.
In his own letter to the judge, Reyna apologized, saying two relatives were “taken away that day.”
“I did not intend to hurt anyone. I let my anger take over,” he wrote.
Contact the author
Please read our comment policy before commenting.