USA v. Goonan, Casey Robert
Oakland, CA

Homegrown, Antisemitism

[NDCA] Casey Robert Goonan was sentenced to nearly 20 years in federal prison for committing a series of arsons and firebombings at the University of California, Berkeley and the Oakland federal building in June 2024. In January 2025, Goonan, of Oakland and Pleasant Hill, pleaded guilty to one count of maliciously damaging or destroying property used in or affecting interstate commerce by means of fire or an explosive. According to a plea agreement filed on June 1, 2024, Goonan placed a bag containing six explosive devices commonly known as "Molotov cocktails" underneath the fuel tank of a marked University of California Police Department (UCPD) patrol car parked near the UC Berkeley campus. Goonan lit the bag on fire and fled, causing the patrol car to catch on fire. Goonan also attempted to firebomb the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Oakland on June 11, 2024. Goonan arrived at the federal building carrying a bag containing three Molotov cocktails. Goonan threw rocks at the building, hoping to break a window in order to throw lit Molotov cocktails inside. That plan was disrupted by protective services officers. Upon fleeing from the officers, Goonan placed the Molotov cocktails in a planter on the side of building and lit them on fire. In addition to these two attacks, Goonan set other fires on the UC Berkeley campus on June 1, June 13, and June 16, 2024. Goonan acknowledged that these attacks were inspired by Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, and that he called on others to attack property on Bay Area college campuses in support of Palestine.