A 34-year-old Oakland resident pleaded guilty to arson charges for attempting last year to firebomb a federal building in Oakland and admitted to setting several fires at the UC Berkeley campus in the same month, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Casey Robert Goonan set fires and placed explosives on federal and university property on multiple occasions in a professed act of retaliation against the federal government and UC administration over the war in Gaza, authorities 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 news release. “Politically motivated violence undermines our democracy, and we will continue to investigate and prosecute those who engage in it.”
On the early morning of June 11, Goonan brought three Molotov cocktails to the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Oakland, where they attempted to break a window by throwing rocks so they could throw the explosives inside, authorities said. Their attempts to light the federal building on fire were foiled by protective services officers, but Goonan threw the three lit explosives into a planter on the side of the building.
Goonan also admitted that they put six Molotov cocktail explosives under the fuel tank of a UC Berkeley police car at the campus on June 1, authorities said. The lit explosives caused the car to catch on fire. Goonan also set separate fires on the UC Berkeley campus on June 1, June 13 and June 16.
Goonan was arrested in June following the firebombing attack on the police car. They were booked into Alameda County Jail and their bail was set at $1 million.
In their plea agreement, Goonan said that the UC Berkeley firebombing and attempted firebombing of the federal building were motivated by the U.S. government’s and UC Berkeley administration’s treatment of Palestinian protestors and were an attempt to influence government policy related to Israel and its ongoing war in Gaza.
Goonan also agreed that their sentence could be determined using a terrorism enhancement, authorities said.
Goonan plead guilty to one count of maliciously damaging property used in or affecting interstate commerce with fire or explosive, which has a potential sentence of between five and 20 years, authorities said.
“Dr. Goonan plead guilty today to one count of arson and took responsibility for four additional acts of arson. As outlined in the plea agreement, these acts were undertaken in response to the University of California’s and the Federal Government’s treatment of pro-Palestine protestors,” said Jeff Wozniak, Goonan’s defense attorney.
Goonan’s sentencing hearing is set for April 8, authorities said.
Wozniak added that, related to that hearing, Goonan would provide contextual information about their “mental health struggles and the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”
Wozniak previously said that Goonan’s case was politicized due to their involvement in anti-war protests.
“Protecting the public from acts of violence and terrorism is the FBI’s top priority,” Federal Bureau of Investigation Acting Special Agent in Charge Dan Costin said in the press release. “Acts of arson and violence that seek to intimidate or coerce government institutions undermine democracy and the rule of law. We are grateful to our state and local law enforcement partners for their swift efforts in identifying and bringing Casey Goonan to justice before further harm could be done.”
Source: www.mercurynews.com