More criminal charges were announced Tuesday in connection with violence that broke out during largely peaceful Los Angeles ICE raid protests, including a clash in which rocks were thrown from a freeway overpass and a California Highway Patrol SUV was lit on fire in the downtown area.
The charges announced at a news conference Tuesday included four felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon on an officer, arson and vandalism against a 30-year-old man accused in the June 8 altercation on a 101 Freeway overpass. During a demonstration in the area, some people walked onto the freeway and others gathered on an overpass.
Video showed objects being thrown at law enforcement vehicles stopped on the freeway as officers tried to clear people who were blocking traffic.
An anonymous tip led officers to a man suspected of throwing a large rock at police vehicles and lighting an object on fire before throwing it at the CHP SUV under the overpass.
Adam Palermo was charged with four felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer and one felony count each of arson and vandalism. The man’s social media account appeared to show images from the chaotic scene, prosecutors said.
He faces up to nine years and eight months in state prison, if convicted as charged. It was not immediately clear whether he has an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
Other charges announced Tuesday include a felony count of assault on a police officer and using a destructive device to injure or destroy against a 23-year-old man accused of lighting a dumpster on fire June 8 in downtown LA. Undercover officers saw the man throwing fireworks at law enforcement officers, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman, who said the powerful explosive had the potential to kill or injure.
A 34-year-old man was charged in connection with a green laser pointed at a LAPD helicopter in San Pedro, and a 39-year-old man faces a second-degree commercial burglary in the looting of an Apple Store in downtown LA.
A 30-year-old man arrested on suspicion of a downtown LA curfew violation faces a firearm possession felony count.
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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 08: California Highway Patrol (CHP) cars, some damaged, are lined up along the 101 freeway after officers cleared protesters from the area on June 08, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Tensions in the city remain high after the Trump administration called in the National Guard against the wishes of city leaders following two days of clashes with police during a series of immigration raids. More protests are scheduled for today. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Protests over ICE raids have been largely peaceful and concentrated in part of downtown Los Angeles near federal buildings, including a federal detention center. Hochman described the suspects as opportunists who took advantage of the protests to commit crimes.
“They do a disservice to legitimate protesters,” Hochman said. “About 99.99 percent of the people who protested did so lawfully, did so exercising their First Amendment rights, voicing their thoughts and their opposition to the government. We come to appreciate this right when we see it being denied in other countries.
“These are people for whom the protest was a cover. They weren’t interested in protesting. This smaller group, which numbers probably in the hundreds, not in the thousands, they look at this as an opportunity”
U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said many of the people under arrest were not from the Los Angeles area.
The LAPD has reported clashes in which rocks, bottles, commercial-grade fireworks and other objects were thrown at officers as violence erupted during some of the demonstrations last week. After reports of looting and vandalism June 9, including the Apple Store, Los Angeles declared a limited curfew for 1 square mile of the downtown area.
Hundreds of arrests have been reported since the start of the protests in early June, the vast majority for unlawful assembly and curfew violations. Arrests decreased each night last week and no arrests were reported Sunday, leading to a reduction in curfew hours this week.
“You would think Los Angeles was a war zone,” Hochman said Tuesday. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”
The curfew was lifted Tuesday.
Peaceful protesters were forced to leave downtown LA after “agitators” began throwing objects at officers, LAPD Deputy Chief Emada Tingirides said. This video was broadcast during the NBC4 News at 6 p.m. on Saturday, June 14, 2025.
Arrests have been reported for more serious crimes like assault on a police officer, vandalism, looting, arson and other offenses.
Criminal charges in connection with the violence include two men accused in attacks involving Molotov cocktails during protests in Los Angeles and Paramount.
On Saturday, thousands of people gathered in downtown LA near City Hall and other locations for a No Kings protest.
The immigration enforcement operations are part of President Trump’s mass deportation plan, a central focus of his campaign. Recent operations in Southern California have led to protests in Los Angeles, where President Trump has activated National Guard members and 700 Marines at federal properties in the city without requests to do so from local and state officials, and other cities around the country.
Local law enforcement agencies, like the LAPD, have responded to protests and violence in the pocket of downtown LA near several federal buildings. A three-judge panel will hear arguments Tuesday over whether the Trump administration should return command of National Guard troops to California after thousands of them were activated in Los Angeles to protect federal buildings and personnel.