An illegal migrant involved in a chaotic anti-ICE riot in Los Angeles, where he poured lighter fluid on a burning California Highway Patrol (CHP) vehicle and hurled an electric scooter at officers trapped beneath a freeway overpass, is now facing federal prison time.
Yachua Mauricio Flores, 23, was sentenced on Monday to 37 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $253,415 in restitution for his participation in a pro-illegal immigration riot that shook downtown Los Angeles on June 8 of last year, according to prosecutors.
Flores, born in Mexico in 2003, came to the United States as a toddler and lived in Lincoln Heights. He has no prior criminal record.
The serious nature of his actions warrants severe consequences, according to LA’s top federal prosecutor.
“Those who attack law enforcement will face the full force of justice,” stated Bill Essayli, United States Attorney for the Central District of California. “This defendant can now reflect on his actions from a federal prison cell.”
Flores, identified as a ringleader in the violent assault that endangered law enforcement officers’ lives, incited a group that targeted police from the Main Street overpass of the 101 Freeway, according to prosecutors.
Standing on the overpass, he poured lighter fluid from a plastic bottle onto a burning CHP vehicle below, contributing to the large-scale attack on law enforcement.
Prosecutors say he later poured a second bottle on the fire and instructed another individual to spray more accelerant on the burning police car.
The accelerant intensified the flames consuming the CHP car, while officers attempted to withstand the barrage of rocks, concrete, street signs, fireworks, and burning debris thrown by protesters.
Flores also assisted in throwing an electric scooter over the overpass railing towards officers and CHP vehicles, fully aware of the significant risk of death or serious injury to his targets below, as stated in his plea agreement with the Department of Justice.
Flores pleaded guilty to his crimes in April, becoming the latest in a series of agitators to face federal justice for their attacks on officers during the 2025 riot, according to Essayli.
A total of six men have pleaded guilty to throwing fireworks, rocks, and other flaming objects at CHP during the riot outside Roybal, including Flores, Ismael Vega of Westlake, and Adam Charles Palermo of Rampart Village.
A federal judge sentenced Vega, 42, to three years in federal prison for his role in the extensive assault that surrounded the beleaguered officers last week.
Palermo pleaded guilty in April to felony assault with a deadly weapon, and he is scheduled for sentencing on December 14.
Essayli emphasized that authorities will continue their relentless pursuit to identify, capture, and prosecute those who attack law enforcement in illegal riots, regardless of how long it takes.
“Another day, another illegal immigration rioter from last summer is sent to federal prison,” said Essayli. “Actions have consequences.”
