2 adults charged with assaulting horses, and a teen with attempted murder at LA protests

Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times on Jul 2, 2025

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LOS ANGELES – L.A. County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman announced new charges against people at immigration protests in L.A., including a man and a woman accused of assaulting law enforcement horses and a teen accused of attempted murder.

Hochman said his office had charged more than 40 people in connection with protest-related violence and vandalism and intended to file more charges as attorneys continued to review evidence.

At least 14 people are facing separate federal charges in relation to the L.A. protests, with alleged crimes including assaulting officers with cinder blocks and Molotov cocktails, and conspiracy to impede arrests.

Among the new charges announced by the D.A.'s office Tuesday were those against a 17-year-old boy, who faces one felony count each of attempted murder, assaulting a peace officer and vandalism, as well as two misdemeanor counts of rioting.

Iran Castro, 29, of El Monte and Dana Whitson, 66, of Oro Valley, Ariz., were charged in separate alleged assaults on L.A. County Sheriff's Department horses during different days of protests in downtown L.A, prosecutors said.

Castro is accused of pulling on the bridle of one horse and grabbing the reins of another as mounted deputies moved toward a crowd of protesters to enforce dispersal orders on June 14. Castro has been charged with two felony counts of assaulting a peace officer, two felony counts of animal cruelty and one felony count of resisting arrest.

She faces up to 10 years and four months in prison if convicted as charged and has pleaded not guilty, according to court records.

On June 13, Whitson allegedly pushed one of the sheriff's horses several times, hit the animal's muzzle and pulled on its reins. He has been charged with one felony count each of assaulting a peace officer, resisting arrest and animal cruelty and pleaded not guilty, according to court records. If convicted as charged, Whitson faces up to six years and four months in prison.

In addition to the injuries suffered by Sheriff's Department horses, at least five Los Angeles Police Department horses were injured at protests, officials said.

Law enforcement use of horses for crowd control has been criticized due to the physical dangers posed to protesters.

A video captured on June 8 by independent journalist Tina-Desiree Berg shows a protester falling as a line of officers on horseback advance into a crowd. The mounted units continue marching forward, trampling over the protester lying on the ground.

Other protesters recently charged by the D.A.'s office include Patrick Monoz, 37, of Whittier. He is accused of injuring a police officer with a flagpole on June 11 after officers ordered protesters to disperse outside a Whittier hotel where federal immigration agents were rumored to be staying.

Monoz pleaded not guilty to one felony count each of assaulting a peace officer and resisting arrest and one misdemeanor count of rioting.

Robert McGrath, 21, is charged with one felony count of vandalism for allegedly spray-painting an expletive on the side of the federal Veterans Affairs building in downtown Los Angeles. He has pleaded not guilty, according to court records.

"The large-scale protests may have ended for now, but our work has not," Hochman said in a statement. "I want to thank the team of investigators and prosecutors for their tireless efforts to ensure that those who committed criminal acts under the guise of protest are held accountable."

Hundreds of people were arrested by various law enforcement agencies as protests roiled downtown Los Angeles for more than a week, with the most intense period of unrest from June 6 until June 10, the day a regional curfew was imposed. Los Angeles police alone made at least 575 arrests.

The D.A.'s office announced initial charges against more than a dozen protesters on June 11, for alleged crimes such as throwing fireworks at police officers, driving a motorcycle into officers and vandalizing the Hall of Justice. Another round of charges was announced on June 17, with allegations including setting a California Highway Patrol vehicle on fire and looting of an Apple store.