East Bay academic faces federal charges in firebombing of UC Berkeley police vehicle

The suspect's attorney said that the man would fight the charges and said the case had been politicized due to the defendant's involvement in anti-war protests.

A federal grand jury indicted an East Bay academic on charges of firebombing a University of California police patrol vehicle in Berkeley earlier this summer, according to federal officials.

Around 5 a.m. June 1, 34-year-old Casey Goonan, of Oakland and Pleasant Hill, went to UC Berkeley’s campus carrying a shopping back with six Molotov cocktails, kicked them underneath a police vehicle and ignited them, according to the indictment. The charges were announced Friday in a news release from Ismail J. Ramsey, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California,.

The car caught on fire, authorities said — it did not explode, but its rear seats, fuel port and trunk were severely damaged, making it a total loss. No one was injured.

Goonan, who according to the Daily Northwestern earned a PhD in African American studies in 2022 from Northwestern University, was charged with two counts of maliciously damaging or destroying property by means of fire or an explosive and one count of possession of an unregistered firearm. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Goonan was arrested June 17 in connection with four arson attacks on UC Berkeley campus that month, including the vehicle firebombing.

His attorney, Jeff Wozniak, told KQED that Goonan would fight the charges and said the case had been politicized due to the defendant’s involvement in anti-war protests.

Pro-Palestinian activists in online posts have claimed responsibility for several recent torchings around campus. Another arson attack was reported earlier this month.

Goonan is set to appear in court on Sept. 17.