A Compton man pleaded guilty to 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, 41, pleaded guilty to one felony count of assault on a federal officer by deadly or dangerous weapon resulting in bodily injury.
Reyna has been in federal custody since July 2025.
“This defendant could have easily killed a federal officer or innocent bystander,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “As he found out the hard way, violence against law enforcement is not constitutionally protected and will be met with swift justice. Those who engage in similar violence will be arrested, charged, and eventually convicted in a court of law.”
According to his plea agreement, on June 7, 2025, Reyna forcibly and intentionally assaulted with a deadly and dangerous weapon a federal law enforcement officer engaged in his official duties, resulting in the infliction of bodily injury to the officer.
Elpidio Reyna, 41, of Compton, pleaded guilty to 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.
— FBI Los Angeles (@FBILosAngeles) February 18, 2026
Details: https://t.co/x3PfJF2c19 pic.twitter.com/XaR3UDvDPt
ARRESTED: Elpidio Reyna surrendered today at the U.S.-Mexico border to face a felony charge of assault on a federal officer for throwing rocks at passing law enforcement vehicles in Paramount on June 7.
— F.A. United States Attorney Bill Essayli (@USAttyEssayli) July 23, 2025
He was taken into custody by a U.S. Border Patrol officer who was inside… pic.twitter.com/9ExZPnEAPT
JUST IN: Elpidio Reyna, the man who threw rocks at Border Patrol vehicles during an ICE riot last year, has pleaded GUILTY to felony assault on a federal officer by deadly or dangerous weapon resulting in bodily injury.
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) February 17, 2026
He now faces up to 20 years in prison.
FAFO pic.twitter.com/4VzNKAyhLZ
On that day, federal law enforcement officers were staging a joint enforcement operation in Paramount near 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.
United States District Judge Fernando L. Aenlle-Rocha scheduled an August 7 sentencing hearing, at which time Reyna will face up to 20 years in federal prison.
The FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, and United States Border Patrol investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Brenda N. Galván of the General Crimes Section is prosecuting this case.
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