South Bay Man Who Threw Fireworks At Officers During LA Protest Faces Charges: DA

GARDENA, CA — A South Bay man is facing criminal charges after being suspected of throwing fireworks at police during a recent anti-ICE protest in Downtown Los Angeles, according to authorities.

Juan Rodriguez, 47, of Gardena, was charged this week with one count each of assault upon a peace officer, advocating violence against an officer causing injury and resisting arrest, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

Prosecutors say Rodriguez was at a protest in Downtown Los Angeles on June 8 and started passing out "commercial-grade" fireworks to a group of protesters near the area of First and Los Angeles streets.

Rodriguez and others then tossed the fireworks at police officers, according to prosecutors. At least one of the officers was injured from the sparks produced by the fireworks, according to authorities.

“I fiercely support the right to peacefully protest and to free speech, but my office will also fiercely prosecute those who decide to cross a line into criminal conduct,” District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement Wednesday. “We will protect those who hurl insults; we will prosecute those who hurl bricks, cinderblocks or fireworks at officers."

Rodriguez faces up to six years and four months in state prison if convicted of each charge, according to prosecutors.

The 47-year-old's arrests come amidst a wave of criminal complaints filed against people taking part in immigration raid protests. A Long Beach and Paramount man are currently facing charges for possessing a Molotov cocktail during a protest during a weekend protest. At least one of the men has been accused of throwing the explosive device at officers trying to conduct crowd control.

Protesters send bottle rockets into the air above the demonstration crowd in Little Tokyo Monday night as the LAPD orders the crowd to disperse. Video by Fernando Haro/Patch pic.twitter.com/7eHFwU7yFn
— Los Angeles Patch (@LosAngelesPatch) June" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/LosAngeles... 10, 2025

Scenes of violence and chaos in the media have embroiled Los Angeles over the past week, but protests in the Downtown area have remained mostly peaceful.

Over the last two days, officers in Downtown have cracked down on protesters using aggressive tactics and vastly outnumbering them.

The LAPD just released tear gas on the crowd that assembled in the area of San Pedro and Second Street, after declaring the assembly unlawful. Some of the protesters then shot fireworks toward the skirmish line. pic.twitter.com/iJbHP1R6YK
— Los Angeles Patch (@LosAngelesPatch) June" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/LosAngeles... 10, 2025

Police have arrested hundreds of people over the last few days, mostly for failure to disperse, several for violating the city-mandated curfew and a few others accused of assaulting officers.

On Wednesday, protesters marched from Pershing Square to City Hall, where officers declared unlawful assembly around 6:30 p.m. Law enforcement used less-lethal ammunition and flash bangs to disperse the crowd, which ended up at Grand Park. Several protesters eventually left, but those who didn't were blocked in by police in front of the Stanley Mosk Courthouse, zip-tied and placed on police buses.

The downtown demonstration did not last long Wednesday night.#losangelesprotest pic.twitter.com/IUP82matou
— Los Angeles Patch (@LosAngelesPatch) June" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/LosAngeles... 12, 2025