East Bay man pleads guilty to firebombing Oakland federal building, UC Berkeley police car
Robert Casey Goonan also admitted to placing a bag containing six Molotov cocktails underneath the fuel tank of a marked University of California Police Department (UCPD) patrol car at UC Berkeley in the early morning hours of June 1, 2024, lighting
OAKLAND, Calif. - An East Bay man pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal arson charges related to a series of firebombings in Oakland and Berkeley last summer, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.
Casey Goonan, 34, of Oakland and Pleasant Hill, said in his plea agreement that he was motivated by the U.S. government’s and UC Berkeley administration’s treatment of Palestinian protesters.
He ended up pleading guilty to one count of maliciously damaging or destroying property by means of fire or an explosive with a terrorism enhancement.
In order to make a point, prosecutors said Goonan showed up to the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building in Oakland on June 11, 2024 carrying a bag of Molotov cocktails in the hopes of throwing the explosive devices into the building. He first threw rocks, hoping to break a window. But his plan was thwarted when officers arrived.
Still, he, placed the explosives in a planter at the side of the building and lit them on fire.
Goonan also admitted to putting a bag of Molotov cocktails underneath a fuel tank of a University of California, Berkeley Police Department cruiser on June 1, 2024. He lit the bag on fire and fled as the car ignited, according to prosecutors.
In addition to these two attacks, Goonan also admitted to setting other fires on the UC Berkeley campus on June 1, June 13, and June 16, 2024.
Goonan said he carried out these attacks to "influence and affect the conduct of governments by intimidation and coercion and to retaliate against the governments of the United States and the State of California for their conduct," the DOJ said.
"In America, we are all free to express our political views and petition the government. But we are not free to do so using violence," U.S. Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey said in a statement. "Politically motivated violence undermines our democracy, and we will continue to investigate and prosecute those who engage in it."
Goonan, who has been in custody since being arrested, is scheduled to be sentenced on April 8 before US District Court Judge Jeffrey White and is facing up to 20 years in federal prison.