A Compton man was sentenced today to 36 months in federal prison for assaulting and injuring a federal officer by throwing chunks of concrete at passing government vehicles during an anti-immigration law enforcement riot last year in Paramount.
Elpidio Reyna, 42, was sentenced by United States District Judge Fernando L. Aenlle-Rocha.
Reyna pleaded guilty on February 17 to one felony count of assault on a federal officer by deadly or dangerous weapon resulting in bodily injury. He has been in federal custody since July 2025.
“Disagreeing with laws passed by Congress does not give you a right to assault federal officers,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “This defendant thought he would go unpunished for throwing chunks of concrete at law enforcement. Instead, he’ll be serving time in federal prison, where he can reflect on his poor decision.”
According to his plea agreement, on June 7, 2025, Reyna forcibly and intentionally assaulted a federal law enforcement officer with a deadly and dangerous weapon while the officer was engaged in his official duties, resulting in the infliction of bodily injury to the officer.
🚨 Sentenced to Prison
— F.A. United States Attorney Bill Essayli (@USAttyEssayli) September 11, 2026
Today, Elpidio Reyna was sentenced to 3 years in federal prison for hurling rocks at a federal vehicle during last year’s anti-immigration enforcement riot in Paramount, shattering a window and injuring an officer.
Like I said before: If you hit a federal… https://t.co/psPhSEztWG
Compton man pleads guilty to assaulting and injuring federal officer during anti-ICE riot last year in Paramount. The defendant -- 41-year-old Elpidio Reyna -- threw chunks of concrete at passing government vehicles, striking one of them and injuring an officer inside.…
— US Attorney L.A. (@USAO_LosAngeles) February 17, 2026
On that day, federal law enforcement officers were staging a joint enforcement operation in Paramount in the vicinity of a Home Depot. Protestors, including Reyna, began to throw rocks at the officers’ official vehicles, lit objects on fire, and impeded law enforcement activity.
During this time, Reyna knowingly and intentionally lit objects on fire in the middle of the street and threw rocks at a convoy of law enforcement vehicles occupied by United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers, including the victim – identified in court documents as “R.T.” – all of whom were engaged in their official duties as federal officers.
Reyna threw a rock at R.T.’s government vehicle, which caused glass to shatter and injure R.T. by cutting his forehead.
“[Reyna’s] reflection on the circumstances surrounding his conduct, that his actions were ‘sudden and emotional and fueled by alcohol,’ because of his anger regarding immigration policy in the United States, is simply not an adequate excuse for his violence,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum.
The FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, and United States Border Patrol investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Brenda N. Galván of the Transnational Organized Crime Section prosecuted this case.
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