A Los Angeles man has been sentenced to three years in federal prison for his role in attacking California Highway Patrol officers during anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protests last summer. Ismael Vega, 42, was also ordered to pay $253,415 in restitution.
Vega was sentenced on Monday after pleading guilty on April 29 to one count of obstructing, impeding, and interfering with law enforcement during a protest on June 8, 2025. According to the Department of Justice, Vega was part of a group on the Main Street overpass above Highway 101. Protesters gathered cardboard, vegetation, and fireworks, ignited them, and dropped the burning materials off the overpass, aiming for a California Highway Patrol (CHP) vehicle positioned near officers below.
In his plea agreement, Vega admitted he was aware that officers were positioned beneath the overpass and that dropping burning debris onto a vehicle posed a significant risk of death or serious injury. He also acknowledged assisting others in igniting debris and repeatedly throwing rocks at law enforcement officers as they attempted to clear the overpass. Prosecutors stated in a sentencing memorandum that the civil disorder was notable for its magnitude and the deep toll it took on the officers present, citing the impact on a CHP sergeant with nearly three decades of service.
Vega is the fifth defendant to be sentenced in connection with the incident. Yachua Mauricio Flores, 23, who poured an accelerant on a fire to intensify flames during the protest, is scheduled for sentencing on August 3 and faces up to five years in prison. The lead defendant, Adam Charles Palermo, 40, faces a maximum of 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to assaulting, resisting, and impeding federal officers with a deadly weapon. Palermo was documented lighting an object on fire to drop onto a CHP patrol vehicle from the overpass.
The investigation was a collaborative effort involving the FBI, the California Highway Patrol, and the Los Angeles Police Department.