A Chicago woman has been sentenced to nearly three years in federal prison after pleading guilty to a hate crime for throwing an incendiary device onto her neighbors’ porch.
According to authorities, on March 16, 2024, Ana M. Hernandez threw a glass bottle containing oil and a washcloth—commonly known as a “Molotov cocktail”—onto the back porch of her neighbors’ home in Chicago. The device ignited a fire on the wooden porch, but no injuries were reported. Hernandez admitted in her plea agreement that she targeted the victims because they were of Venezuelan origin and wanted them to leave the residence.
Later that same day, Hernandez left a handwritten note on the car belonging to the landlord of the victims, who also lived in the building. The note read: “We do not want you in the neighborhood. Go back to your country. You can go the easy way or the hard way.”
Hernandez, age 70, pleaded guilty earlier this year to unlawfully interfering with housing rights under federal hate crime laws. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Lindsay C. Jenkins sentenced her to two years and nine months in federal prison.
The sentencing was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI’s Chicago Field Office. The Chicago Police Department assisted with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan L. Shih represented the government.
