A Los Angeles man was sentenced to three years in federal prison for tossing rocks and flaming debris at California Highway Patrol officers underneath a freeway overpass during violent anti-ICE riots in downtown LA last summer.
Ismael Vega, 42, from Westlake, was hit with the sentence Monday in addition to being ordered to pay $253,415 in restitution.
Ismael Vega (pictured in purple) was found to be throwing burning debris and rocks during the protest. Facebook/U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California
Vega was part of a large group of protesters on the Main Street overpass above Highway 101 in on June 8, 2025, when one of CHP’s vehicles was set on fire, according to the Department of Justice.
The protesters picked up cardboard, vegetation and fireworks before lighting the items on fire and dropping them off the overpass while aiming for a CHP vehicle, which sat very close to officers underneath the overpass.
In his plea agreement, Vega admitted that he knew the officers were below the overpass and that throwing burning debris onto a vehicle created a serious risk of death or injury to the officers.
The agitator Ismael Vega (pictured in purple) during an anti-ICE protest in downtown Los Angeles last summer. Facebook/U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California
On April 29, Vega pleaded guilty to one count of obstructing, impeding and interfering with law enforcement during the protest.
Vega also admitted that he repeatedly helped other people who were trying to set debris on fire on the overpass. He lit a large piece of cardboard on fire, held it over the railing, and lined it up so it would land on the hood of a CHP vehicle. The burning cardboard then landed on the vehicle.
Meanwhile, another agitator, Yachua Mauricio Flores, 23, from Lincoln Heights, poured an unknown liquid on the fire to further ignite the flames. Vega stood next to him and used his hands to point toward and gesture at the flames, authorities said.
Flaming debris shown being dropped from the Highway 101 overpass.
A CHP vehicle burned during anti-ICE protests in downtown Los Angeles in June 2025. Facebook/U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California
Vega also admitted that he picked up and threw several rocks at law enforcement officers as they tried to clear the overpass.
He acknowledged that he intentionally acted to interfere with the officers while they were carrying out their duties.
“This civil disorder stood apart in its magnitude,” prosecutors said in a sentencing memorandum. “A sergeant in the California Highway Patrol with nearly three decades in law enforcement wrote a statement about how this incident stood apart and the impact it had on him and his son. His experience underscores how violent this incident became and the deep toll it took on all law enforcement present.”
Adam Charles Palermo (pictured), faces up to 20 years in federal prison for trying to destroy a CHP vehicle after throwing fiery debris from the overpass. Obtained by the CA Post
Vega is the fifth defendant to be sentenced in this case.
Flores is scheduled to be sentenced on August 3 and faces up to five years in federal prison.
The lead defendant, Adam Charles Palermo, 40, of Rampart Village, is scheduled to be sentenced on December 14 and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
He copped to a felony count of assaulting, resisting and impeding persons assisting federal officers and employees with a deadly or dangerous weapon.
The FBI investigated the case with help from the California Highway Patrol and the Los Angeles Police Department.
