Paramount Man Accused Of Throwing Cinderblocks At Federal Agents During Protests

PARAMOUNT, CA — A 30-year-old man has been charged in connection with an assault on a federal agent during a protest in Paramount in June, according to the United States Attorney's Office.

Paramount resident Jacob Daniel Terrazas was charged Thursday with one count of assault on a federal employee by using a deadly and dangerous weapon resulting in bodily injury.

Federal prosecutors say Terrazas injured at least one Border Patrol agent during an anti-ICE protest in Paramount on June 7 by throwing chunks of cinderblocks at them.

"Terrazas was one of several individuals who threw hard objects — including cinderblocks and rocks — at federal agents," the United States Attorney's Office said in a statement Thursday afternoon. "Terrazas used both a makeshift shield and nearby trees for cover and repeatedly rushed toward the agents to throw remnants of cinderblock at them."

The chunks of concrete, according to federal prosecutors, hit the agent on his left shin, causing him to bleed. The agent left the front lines to get treatment, but later returned after realizing he could still walk and stand, authorities said. A second agent was also struck but uninjured, federal prosecutors said.

The federal agents fought back, using pepper balls against Terrazas and other people throwing rocks, according to authorities. Despite wearing a black mask that covered the lower half of his face, Terrazas was identified as one of the people throwing rocks and taken into custody, according to federal prosecutors.

“We will not stand by while our brave federal agents and officers get hurt,” United States Attorney Bill Essayli said Thursday. “If you injure an official enforcing immigration law, you may serve 20 years in a federal prison cell. It’s just not worth it.”

If convicted of the charge, Terrazas could be sentenced to a maximum of 20 years in federal prison.

The charges are one of multiple that came out of the protest in Paramount that day.

Another Paramount man was accused in June of throwing a Molotov cocktail over a wall of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies who were conducting crowd control during the protests.

A Compton resident made the FBI's "Most Wanted" list after authorities said he was hurling rocks at agents during the June 7 protest. He was arrested last month and is facing one count of assault on a federal officer.