Overview
- Vega, who pleaded guilty on April 29, was sentenced Monday to 37 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $253,415 in restitution.
- In his plea he admitted lighting and dropping burning cardboard, vegetation and fireworks from the Main Street overpass above the 101 Freeway and throwing rocks at California Highway Patrol officers trapped below.
- Federal prosecutors said the actions created a substantial risk of death or serious injury and cited a CHP sergeant's statement about the lasting impact of the attack.
- The case is part of an FBI probe handled with help from the CHP and LAPD, and Vega is the fifth defendant to be sentenced while co-defendants face upcoming hearings on Aug. 3 and Dec. 14, 2026.
- The June 8, 2025 protests were broadly aimed at federal immigration enforcement and were mostly peaceful overall but included focused episodes of violence that led officials to declare an unlawful assembly and impose a limited downtown curfew.