A man who perpetrated arson attacks in California last year has been sentenced to more than 19 years of prison time, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of California.
"At sentencing, the Court referred to Goonan as a ‘domestic terrorist’ and found that he had committed a felony offense that involved or was intended to promote a federal crime of terrorism," the office said.
In January, Casey Robert Goonan "pleaded guilty to one count of maliciously damaging or destroying property used in or affecting interstate commerce by means of fire or an explosive," the release explained.
Citing "a plea agreement filed in open court," the release notes that on June 1, 2024 the man put a bag of Molotov cockails below the fuel tank of University of California Police Department vehicle and set that bag ablaze, which resulted in the vehicle catching on fire.
Arsonist Casey Robert Goonan has been sentenced to 235 months in prison (justice.gov)
But that was not the only instance of arson Goonan perpetrated, according to the release, which states that on June 11, 2024, he tossed rocks at the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse seeking to shatter a window so he could lob in Molotov cocktails.
"That plan was disrupted by protective services officers. Upon fleeing from the officers, Goonan placed the Molotov cocktails in a planter on the side of building and lit them on fire. In addition to these two attacks, Goonan set other fires on the UC Berkeley campus on June 1, June 13, and June 16, 2024," the press release states.
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The Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, April 12, 2023. (Michaela Vatcheva/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Terrorists committed shocking atrocities during the heinous Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack against Israel.
But Goonan cited that attack as inspiration for his own behavior.
"Goonan acknowledged that these attacks were inspired by Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, and that he called on others to attack property on Bay Area college campuses in support of Palestine. Goonan admitted that his conduct was designed 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 release states.
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An Israeli flag flies during the March for Israel on the National Mall Nov. 14, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Senior U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White "also ordered the defendant serve 15 years of supervised release after he is released from custody and ordered restitution in the amount of $94,267.51 and a $100 special assessment," the press release noted — it also points out that Goonan "has been in custody since his initial arrest on state charges on June 17, 2024."