United States of America v. Ana A. Hernandez

Chicago, Illinois, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with unlawfully interfering with housing rights.

On March 16, 2024, ANA M. HERNANDEZ, age 70, threw a glass bottle containing oil and a washcloth—a device commonly known as a “Molotov cocktail”—onto her neighbor’s back porch in Chicago. The incendiary device started a fire on the wooden porch, but no one was injured. Hernandez admitted in a plea agreement that she threw the device onto the porch because the victims who resided there were of Venezuelan origin, and she wanted to convince them to leave the residence.

Later that day, Hernandez placed a handwritten note on the car of the victims’ landlord, who owned and resided in the building. Among other things, the note stated, “We do not want you in the neighborhood. Go back to your country. You can go the easy way or the hard way.”

The Defendant pled guilty and was sentenced to two years and 9 months in prison.