A Koreatown man pleaded guilty on Monday, Oct. 5 to throwing Molotov cocktails at security officers inside a federal building in downtown Los Angeles, an attack he indicated was motivated by anti-illegal-immigration enforcement.
Jose Francisco Jovel, 54, entered a plea to one count of assault on a person assisting federal officers/employees and one count of possession of unregistered or unlawfully manufactured destructive devices.
Sentencing was scheduled for Jan. 28.
Jovel — who hours earlier had apparently set his Koreatown apartment on fire after receiving an eviction notice —arrived on a bicycle on Dec. 1, 2025, at the Federal Building, 300 N. Los Angeles St., in downtown’s Civic Center, an affidavit says.
The building houses offices for federal agencies, including for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
While at the base of the stairs outside the building’s main entrance, prosecutors said, Jovel reached into a bag on his bicycle’s handlebars and threw a Molotov cocktail through the building’s sliding door, which was open, and is marked as an employee entrance.
Jovel then threw another Molotov cocktail through the open door of the Federal Building’s public entrance, where members of the public were waiting to go through security, court papers state.
Nobody was injured.
Molotov cocktails are hand-thrown incendiary weapons consisting of breakable containers filled with flammable substances and equipped with fuses. A typical version consists of a glass bottle filled with flammable liquid sealed with a cloth wick.
Evidence, including surveillance video, indicates Jovel attempted to light at least one of the devices, prosecutors said.
Federal officers immediately arrested Jovel then searched the bags he brought with him, which contained a flame torch, two airsoft guns, five knives, pepper spray and seven additional Molotov cocktails, according to the defendant’s plea agreement filed in Los Angeles federal court.
Jovel admitted he intended to injure federal officers and security guards.
Los Angeles police and fire crews evacuated a portion of the building while police conducted an investigation, with Los Angeles Street temporarily closed between Temple and Aliso streets.
During his arrest, Jovel said he was motivated by his anger at the federal government because of its immigration policies and actions, authorities said.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Jovel described his actions as “a terrorist attack” and said to the officers, “you’re separating families.” He then yelled for people to “start shooting these,” referring to the officers, prosecutors stated.