The man charged after allegedly tossing 2 homemade incendiary devices through the front doors of a Downtown LA federal building was ordered held without bail until trial.
A federal magistrate judge postponed the arraignment for Jose Francisco Jovel during an initial appearance in court Wednesday.
Jovel, 54, was arrested at the entrance to the federal building at 300 N. Los Angeles St. early Monday after prosecutors said he tried to ignite the Molotov-cocktail-style devices that federal agents said in court papers had been filled with alcohol-based hand sanitizer and other flammable fluids.
Jovel was scheduled to return to court December 29 to enter a plea to the initial charge of the attempted malicious damage of federal property, though authorities said they anticipated additional charges could be added when the case is presented to a grand jury.
According to a criminal complaint Jovel told the arresting officers he considered the attempted firebombing an act of terrorism, and made statements about ‘separating families,’ which prosecutors characterized as evidence Jovel was upset about the federal government’s immigration enforcement efforts.
An affidavit signed by a federal agent said 5 more improvised incendiary devices were found in Jovel’s belongings after his arrest, and said he later told an FBI agent during questioning that, “he did this because he was mad at immigration policies and actions of the federal government.”
According to the complaint Jovel was jailed as a juvenile for murder and has an adult criminal history that includes prison terms for grand theft and robbery.
Agents said he set a fire inside his apartment in Koreatown about 4 hours before the incident at the federal building.