Man sentenced to five years in federal prison for firebombing La Quinta Republican Headquarters
A Palm Desert man was sentenced to five years in federal prison for firebombing the East Valley Republican Women Federated (EVRWF) office in La Quinta, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Monday.
Carlos Espriu, 23, pleaded guilty to a single federal count of attempted arson of a building, admitting that he used a Molotov cocktail in an attempt to destroy the local Republican headquarters.
The charge typically carries a sentence between five and 20 years behind bars, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Espriu was also ordered to pay $5,426 in restitution to the victim for the damage caused by the firebombing.
The firebombing took place on May 31, 2020, as protesters, looters, and arsonists stole, burned, and ransacked buildings in cities nationwide. A masked Espriu was caught on surveillance camera using a metal baseball bat to break windows at the EVRWF headquarters. He then lit an "improvised incendiary device" constructed of three bottles that he tossed through the windows before fleeing.
According to the complaint, Espriu then returned to the building a few minutes later and broke more windows. He then entered the building and retrieved the Molotov cocktails and walking away with the device.
He returned again about 30 seconds later, this time without a mask on, and threw the set of bottles once more into the building, which caused a fire to start.
The firebombing caused limited damage to the EVRWF headquarters and no one was injured.
According to the DOJ, several people came forward with information that allowed law enforcement officials to identify Espriu.
Investigators discovered social media accounts believed to belong to Espriu, including a Twitter account that, three days before the EVRWF firebombing, tweeted: "I wanna go burn sh** n get hit with tear gas.”
Officials also saw Espriu repeatedly using a vehicle closely resembling one seen on the surveillance video.
Espriu was arrested by the Gang Impact Team in Indio on September 9, according to the Riverside County District Attorney's Office.
"Investigators determined that Espriu was attending a party in Indio on Sept. 9 and stopped a vehicle he was driving when he left the party," a district attorney news release said.
The criminal complaint also revealed that investigators served a search warrant at Espriu’s residence in July that led to the recovery of a green lighter which is very similar to the one used to light the Molotov cocktails.
Officials also recovered audio recordings from a dashboard camera in which they say Espriu is heard telling a woman in late June that he shaved his facial hair after seeing some of the surveillance video broadcast on local news. He also described his planning, his attempts to recruit others to help him, and the steps he took to start the fire.
In the audio recordings, Espriu says he manufactured the Molotov cocktails by filling three bottles with gasoline and inserting a towel into one bottle. He reportedly then recounts the details of the firebombing as seen on the surveillance video, according to the complaint.
The FBI’s Inland Empire Joint Terrorism Task Force investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Sara B. Milstein of the Violent and Organized Crime Section prosecuted this case.
