35‐year-old Casey Robert Goonan has been sentenced to 235 months — nearly 19.6 years — in federal prison for a string of firebombing attacks targeting UC Berkeley and the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building in Oakland. The court formally designated him a “domestic terrorist.”
According to the plea agreement, Goonan admitted that in June 2024 he carried out a series of coordinated arsons and attempted firebombings.
On June 1, Goonan placed a bag containing six Molotov cocktails under the fuel tank of a marked University of California Police Department patrol car near the UC Berkeley campus, lit it, and fled. The vehicle caught fire.
On June 11, Goonan traveled to the Oakland federal building, carrying three Molotov cocktails, tried (by throwing rocks) to break windows so he could lob devices inside, but was thwarted by security. Instead, he placed the devices in a planter on the side of the building and lit them.
He also admitted to setting additional fires on the UC Berkeley campus on June 13 and June 16, 2024. In his own statements (as part of the plea), Goonan claimed the attacks were motivated by “despair over Gaza” and that he was inspired by the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. He went further, calling on others to carry out property attacks on Bay Area campuses in solidarity with Palestine.
In addition to roughly 235 months (nearly 20 years) behind bars, the court ordered 15 years of supervised release and $94,267.51 in restitution (plus a special assessment).
Hellbound and Down 