Last Updated on September 23, 2025 by The HD Post Staff
CALIFORNIA – The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced September 23 that a California man was sentenced to 235 months in federal prison.
He was convicted for committing a series of arsons and firebombings at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Oakland federal building in June 2024.
In January 2025, Casey Robert Goonan, 35, of Oakland and Pleasant Hill, pleaded guilty to using fire or explosives to damage property affecting interstate commerce.
According to his plea deal, on June 1, 2024, Goonan placed six Molotov cocktails under a UCPD patrol car near UC Berkeley. Goonan lit the bag on fire and fled, causing the patrol car to catch on fire.
On June 11, 2024, Goonan tried to firebomb the Oakland federal courthouse. He brought three Molotov cocktails to the federal building. Goonan threw rocks to break a window and hurl Molotov cocktails inside. Protective services officers foiled the plan.
As he fled, Goonan left the Molotov cocktails in a planter beside the building and lit them.
Inspired by 2023 Hamas attack
Goonan also set fires on the UC Berkeley campus on June 1, 13, and 16, 2024.
He admitted he was inspired by Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and urged others to target Bay Area college campuses in support of Palestine. Goonan admitted his actions were meant to intimidate and retaliate against the U.S. and California governments.
United States Attorney Craig H. Missakian said freedom of expression and peaceful protest are deeply enshrined values in America.
“We are all free to think what we want and express those views peacefully, but the use of violence to achieve political aims—or to silence those with whom you may disagree—has no place in our community and our country,” he said.
Goonan called a “domestic terrorist”
At sentencing, the court called Goonan a “domestic terrorist” and ruled his felony promoted a federal crime of terrorism.
Judge White also imposed 15 years of supervised release, ordered $94,267.51 in restitution, and imposed a $100 special assessment.
Goonan has been in custody since his June 17, 2024, arrest on state charges.
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