UC Berkeley

Arsonist admits setting fires at federal building, UC Berkeley

Casey Goonan is set to be sentenced April 8 and could receive five to 20 years for what was described as terrorism.

Authorities say Casey Goonan lit a UC Berkeley police car on fire last year. U.S. Attorney's Office

A local activist took responsibility for retaliating against the government by setting fires last year on the UC Berkeley campus and at the Oakland federal building, authorities say.

Casey Goonan, 34, pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal arson charges in relation to several crimes last year, the U.S. Attorney's office announced.

Goonan, a resident of Oakland and Pleasant Hill, admitted to "a series of firebombings and arsons at the Oakland federal building and the University of California, Berkeley in June 2024," according to the announcement.

Goonan (who uses "they/them" pronouns) said they wanted to "retaliate against government conduct" through the firebomb attacks, authorities said.

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In the plea agreement, Goonan described getting to the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Oakland on June 11, 2024, "carrying a bag containing three explosive devices commonly known as 'Molotov cocktails.'"

Goonan tried to break a window by throwing rocks at the building with a plan to "throw lit Molotov cocktails inside."

Protective services officers "disrupted" the plan, so Goonan put the explosives into a planter next to the building and set them on fire, authorities said.

Goonan also admitted to putting six Molotov cocktails beneath a UCPD police cruiser parked at UC Berkeley on June 1, 2024, and lit them on fire, authorities said.

The patrol car sustained heavy damage when it went up in flames.

A UC Berkeley police car after it was set on fire in June 2024. *Ariel Nava Photo*

"In addition to these two attacks, Goonan admitted to setting other fires on the UC Berkeley campus on June 1, June 13, and June 16, 2024," according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Goonan said the actions "were 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."

According to the U.S. attorney's office, Goonan agreed that a terrorism enhancement should be used to determine the ultimate sentence.

"In America, we are all free to express our political views and petition the government. But we are not free to do so using violence," U.S. Attorney Ismail Ramsey, a Berkeley native and resident, said in a prepared statement. "Politically motivated violence undermines our democracy, and we will continue to investigate and prosecute those who engage in it."

As part of the plea deal, Goonan admitted to one count of maliciously damaging or destroying property used in or affecting interstate commerce by means of fire or an explosive device.

The crime carries a sentence of five to 20 years in prison, authorities said.

Goonan has been in custody since being arrested last year and is scheduled to be sentenced April 8 before Senior U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White.

The prosecution, led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nikhil Bhagat with the assistance of Tina Rosenbaum, was the result of an investigation by the FBI, ATF, the Office of the State Fire Marshal and UCPD.

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