Latest news with #teargas
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Army veteran and US citizen arrested in California immigration raid warns it could happen to anyone
A U.S. Army veteran who was arrested during an immigration raid at a Southern California marijuana farm last week said Wednesday he was sprayed with tear gas and pepper spray before being dragged from his vehicle and pinned down by federal agents who arrested him. George Retes, 25, who works as a security guard at Glass House Farms in Camarillo, said he was arriving to work on July 10 when several federal agents surrounded his car and — despite him identifying himself as a U.S. citizen — broke his window, peppered sprayed him and dragged him out. 'It took two officers to nail my back and then one on my neck to arrest me even though my hands were already behind my back,' Retes said. He was taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles where he said he was put in a special cell on suicide watch and checked on each day after he became emotionally distraught over his ordeal and missing his 3-year-old daughter's birthday party Saturday. He said federal agents never told him why he was arrested or allowed him to contact a lawyer or his family during his three-day detention. Authorities never let him shower or change clothes despite being covered in tear gas and pepper spray, Retes said, adding that his hands burned throughout the first night he spent in custody. On Sunday, an officer had him sign a paper and walked him out of the detention center. He said he was told he faced no charges. Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, confirmed Retes' arrest but didn't say on what charges. 'George Retes was arrested and has been released," she said. "He has not been charged. The U.S. Attorney's Office is reviewing his case, along with dozens of others, for potential federal charges related to the execution of the federal search warrant in Camarillo.' Retes said he joined the Army at 18 and served four years, including deploying to Iraq in 2019. 'I joined the service to help better myself,' he said. 'I did it because I love this (expletive) country. We are one nation and no matter what, we should be together. All this separation and stuff between everyone is just the way it shouldn't be.' Retes said he plans to sue for wrongful detention. 'The way they're going about this entire deportation process is completely wrong, chasing people who are just working, especially trying to feed everyone here in the U.S.,' he said. 'No one deserves to be treated the way they treat people.' Retes said he was arrested along with California State University Channel Islands professor Jonathan Caravello, also a U.S. citizen. Caravello was arrested for throwing a tear gas canister at law enforcement, U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli posted on X. The California Faculty Association said Caravello was taken away by agents who did not identify themselves nor inform him of why he was being arrested. Like Retes, the association said the professor was then held without being allowed to contact his family. Caravello was attempting to dislodge a tear gas canister that was stuck underneath someone's wheelchair, witnesses told KABC-TV, the ABC affiliate in Los Angeles. A federal judge on Monday ordered Caravello to be released on $15,000 bond. He's scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 1. 'I want everyone to know what happened. This doesn't just affect one person,' Retes said. 'It doesn't matter if your skin is brown. It doesn't matter if you're white. It doesn't matter if you're a veteran or you serve this country. They don't care. They're just there to fill a quota.'
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Daily Mail
California professor unmasked as protester who 'hurled tear gas at ICE agents' during pot farm raid
A California professor has been accused of hurling tear gas at ICE agents during a tumultuous raid on a cannabis farm last week. Jonathan Anthony Caravello was taken into custody on Thursday, with U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli claiming on social media that he threw a tear gas cannister at law enforcement officials who descended on Glass House Farms in Ventura County. Essayli went on to deny the California Faculty Association's earlier claims that Caravello - who teaches math and philosophy at California State University Channel Islands - was 'kidnapped' by federal agents. Instead, a criminal complaint obtained by the Ojai Valley News claims that after agent deployed cannisters of tear gas, Caravello was caught on body camera footage 'attempt[ing] to kick the canister' which proceeded to roll past him. 'Caravello turned around, ran towards the canister, picked it up and threw the canister overhand back at [Border Patrol] agents,' an affidavit says, adding that it 'came within approximately several feet above law enforcements' heads.' In the aftermath, Caravello allegedly left the scene - only to return a few hours later wearing different clothes, according to the affidavit. It also claims that Caravello was seen 'holding a microphone' at the cannabis farm when Border Patrol agents 'attempted to clear a safe pathway' between the protesters and government-owned vehicles attempting to leave. He was arrested just before 6pm, according to the criminal complaint, which states that agents placed the professor on his stomach on the ground and gave him 'verbal commands... but Caravello would not comply and attempted to grab a [Border Patrol] agent's leg. 'Caravello continuously kicked his legs and refused to give the BP agents his arms,' the complaint alleges. Witnesses at the scene, though, offered a different version of events. They claimed the professor was attempting to dislodge a tear gas cannister that became stuck underneath another protester's wheelchair when he was arrested, ABC 7 reports. Angelmarie Taylor, 24, also told the Los Angeles Times she saw agents fire tear gas after Caravello and others refused to move out of the way of agents' vehicles. At that point, four masked agents took Caravello from the protest site and placed him in an unmarked vehicle without identifying themselves, stating a reason for his arrest or disclosing where they were taking him, the California Faculty Association claimed. 'They didn't give us a dispersal order,' Taylor recounted. 'They didn't say anything.' In a statement, California State University Channel Islands said it is working to get 'additional information to fully understand the circumstances of the incident.' 'At this time, it is our understanding that Professor Caravello was peacefully participating in a protest - an act protected under the First Amendment and a right guaranteed to all Americans,' the university said. 'If confirmed, we stand with elected officials and community leaders calling for his immediate release.' Members of the California Faculty Association and VC Defensa, an immigration rights group, then hosted a rally demanding the release of at least 12 Ventura County residents - including Caravello - on Sunday. 'As part of our union's antiracism and social justice agenda, we show up for our immigrant communities, including faculty and students engaged in efforts to stop and protect our communities from the invasion of ICE, [Department of Homeland Security], National Guard and local law enforcement,' the California Faculty Association said in a statement. A spokesperson for the group also spoke up about Caravello's detention in remarks to the Coyote Chronicle. 'This was not just an arrest - it was a disappearance,' the spokesperson said. 'Dr. Caravello is a US citizen, a public servant and an advocate for justice. His abduction is part of a deeply alarming trend of silencing dissent and criminalizing compassion.' VC Defensa also shared a message on Instagram asserting that Caravello was 'defending the immigrant community and supporting other people who come to show their support. 'Let's be critical before sharing news that he was "violent,"' the immigrant rights group urged. 'We have so many witnesses that know he was attacked by ICE and assaulted for no reason other than he was in the crowd that stood against ICE. 'This is an egregious lie by the ruling class (as always!!),' it claimed. Still, Caravello is now facing federal charges of 'assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers or employees,' which can carry up to 10 years in prison if the offense involves a weapon or causes injury. He was released on a $15,000 bail on Monday, with an arraignment set for August 1. Meanwhile, Democrats have spoken out against the ICE raid at the cannabis farm, as they insisted the migrants agents were after were just children picking strawberries. Ventura County Democratic Party Chair Steve Auclair called the raid 'a military attack on our community,' Auclair said. 'First they came for the farmworkers. Now they're coming for all of us,' he declared. California Gov. Gavin Newsom even declared that President Donald Trump is 'the real scum' for conducting the nationwide ICE raids.
The Independent
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
California professor accused of assault after he was ‘kidnapped' during ICE protests at cannabis farm raid
Federal prosecutors have accused a university professor of assaulting law enforcement by throwing a tear gas canister back at officers during protests against immigration raids at a California cannabis farm. Jonathan Anthony Caravello, a math and philosophy lecturer at California State University Channel Islands, was arrested July 10 as heavily armed federal agents fired tear gas into crowds demonstrating against the raids. Bill Essayli, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, accused Caravello of 'throwing a tear gas canister at law enforcement' and said his office is preparing to charge him with assaulting, resisting or impeding officers. Carvello's first court appearance is Monday. According to witnesses, a tear gas canister had rolled under the wheelchair of a legal observer who struggled to breathe or move. Caravello had reportedly rushed over to help when he was tackled by agents. Following his arrest, more than 24 hours passed before Caravello's whereabouts were discovered. His educators' union, California Faculty Association, posted a statement saying that he had been 'kidnapped' by four masked agents who did not identify themselves or state where they were taking him as they placed him in an unmarked car. The university said in a statement that it believed Caravello 'was peacefully participating in a protest — an act protected under the First Amendment and a right guaranteed to all Americans.' 'If confirmed, we stand with elected officials and community leaders calling for his immediate release,' the university said. Members of the California Faculty Association held a vigil Sunday in front of a detention center demanding his release. The raids and intense standoff between protesters and federal agents have emerged as the latest flashpoint in Donald Trump's aggressive anti-immigration agenda, which has deployed masked federal law enforcement agents into communities to make mass arrests and swiftly remove thousands of people from the country. Last week, officers arrested more than 300 people during a pair of raids inside cannabis farms in Camarillo, California, roughly 50 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Agents allegedly discovered 10 undocumented immigrant children working there. The United Farm Workers union said several workers were critically injured during the raids, while other targeted workers, including a U.S. citizen, 'remain totally unaccounted for.' Agents are accused of chasing one worker who fell 30 feet from the top of a building. Jaime Alanis Garcia was hospitalized and placed on life support with a broken neck, broken skull and a severed artery. Garcia was later removed from life support and died from his injuries. 'His wife and parents decided today to let him rest. He has passed away,' his family said in a statement. The raids sparked an intense standoff between protesters and federal officers who arrived on the scene in military-style vehicles. 'We are outraged by these military-style tactics that target immigrants and terrorize communities,' California Faculty Association said in a statement. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security agents are 'tearing families apart and undermining the constitutional rights of everyone — including U.S. citizens — who stand with marginalized communities,' the group said.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Newsom Slams Trump Over Tense ICE Weed Farm Raid: ‘He's the Real Scum'
California Gov. Gavin Newsom ripped into President Donald Trump in response to video footage that showed federal immigration agents firing tear gas and pepper bullets at children. Immigration officials were conducting raids at a marijuana growing facility in Camarillo, Calif., on Thursday as part of the administration's ongoing mass deportation efforts. Workers' family members began showing up at roadblocks set up by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents to ask about their loved ones, and were soon joined by protesters, independent media outlet L.A. Taco reported. About an hour and a half into the raid, tensions escalated when officers began firing tear gas and pepper bullets at the crowd, according to L.A. Taco and local news station KTLA. 'Kids running from tear gas, crying on the phone because their mother was just taken from the fields,' Newsom wrote in a post on X alongside footage shared by KTLA. 'Trump calls me 'Newscum'—but he's the real scum.' The video shows people—including children and protesters—running through nearby fields and down the shoulder of a road while white smoke billows behind them. In the background, someone yells, 'Do not panic, do not run! Do not run! Stay calm,' while people cover their faces and cough. It also shows a teenage boy with a cell phone to his ear covering his face and sobbing while people yell in the background. 'They took your mom?' the person filming asks, and the boy nods. The raid's target was a cannabis growing facility called the Glass House Brands, with aerial footage showing a large federal law enforcement presence extending to several nearby fields, according to KTLA. As the situation became more chaotic, more protesters showed up and began trying to block the ICE agents' vehicles, L.A. Taco reported. At 2:35 p.m., news footage appeared to show someone in the area firing a pistol at federal law enforcement officers. The FBI said in a statement that it was offering a $50,000 award for information leading to a conviction. 'Will @GavinNewsom condemn this??' the MAGA account Libs of TikTok demanded on X. 'Of course I condemn any assault on law enforcement, you s--t poster,' Newsom replied. 'Now do Jan. 6.' An estimated 30 people were detained during the operation, KTLA reported, and several protesters were arrested, U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin wrote in a post on X that law enforcement officers had executed criminal search warrants at the marijuana facility. A second Glass House growing center was raided about 35 miles away in Carpinteria, Calif., The New York Times reported. After the raids, Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott wrote on social media that 10 undocumented minors were found at the Camarillo facility, eight of whom were unaccompanied minors. Officials were investigating whether any child labor laws had been violated, he added. Glass House Brands said in a statement, 'The company fully complied with agent search warrants and will provide further updates if necessary.' Cannabis is legal in California under state law approved by voters.
Daily Mail
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Democrats including Gavin Newsom suggest migrant cannabis farm workers caught up in violent ICE raids were 'kids picking strawberries'
California Gov. is under fire for posting a shocking response to ICE raids, likening the workers at the targeted cannabis farms to 'kids' whose mothers have been taken from them. At multiple locations across southern California's Ventura County, just north of Los Angeles, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) carried out raids on cannabis farms leading to a violent response from locals and farmworkers. Videos of the operations at Glass House Farms show armored federal agents standing on farm roads and flanked by rows of what appear to be cannabis, or marijuana plants, while masked agitators hurled slurs and debris at law enforcement. When the stand-off became too volatile, the National Guard and ICE agents popped tear gas which sent the crowds running in a frenzy. One man even opened up fired upon the federal agents. But Democrats including Newsom and Rep. Jimmy Gomez immediately shared sympathy for the targets on social media. Newsom posted on X: 'kids running from tear gas, crying on the phone because their mother was just taken from the fields,' Newsom posted on X alongside a clip of the smokey aftermath of the fracas. Newsom posted on X: 'ids running from tear gas, crying on the phone because their mother was just taken from the fields,' Newsom posted on X alongside a clip of the smokey aftermath of the fracas. 'Trump calls me 'Newscum' — but he's the real scum,' the two-term governor added. The governor was widely criticized for his comment. 'Democrats are having a fit because we're enforcing our laws against people working at a weed farm,' Vice President JD Vance wrote. 'Why are you allowing small children to work in a drug farm?' commentator and LA native Peachy Keenan responded to Newsom. 'Not too late to delete this,' political strategist and '10 Minute Drill' host Matt Whitlock wrote. In a statement to the Daily Mail DHS confirmed eight children were rescued as a result of the raid. 'At the California marijuana facility, ICE and CBP law enforcement rescued 8 unaccompanied migrant children from what looks like exploitation, violation of child labor laws and potentially human trafficking or smuggling,' a DHS spokesman said. 'Yet, Gavin Newsom, Ruben Gallego and other politicians continue to demonize and attack the law enforcement officers who bravely rescued these children.' Stunningly, Newsom was not the only Democrat to provide political cover for the violence that broke out at the ICE raid. Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., wrongly claimed the facility was not for cannabis production. 'Instead of prioritizing dangerous criminals Trump is targeting families that have been here for years picking our food,' he wrote, reposting the same video as Newsom and Gomez. 'The public outcry and protests are occurring because the American public knows this is wrong.' Similarly, California Democratic Rep. Jimmy Gomez bizarrely - and wrongly - insinuated that the cannabis operation was actually a berry farm. 'How many MS-13 gang members are waking up at 3 a.m. to pick strawberries? O'yeah, zero!' the Democrat oddly claimed. 'Trump said he'd go after 'bad hombres,' but he's targeting the immigrant farm workers who feed America. Either he lied — or he can't tell the difference.' Gomez was apparently unable to discern the difference between a drug and berry farm. 'Just actively dishonest to keep pushing this narrative when it's been widely reported since this afternoon that this is a criminal warrant being served at a cannabis farm - not 'farm workers who feed America,"' Fox News' Bill Melugin said, calling out Gomez for lying. 'There is no food being grown here. No strawberries either.' The offices for Senator Gallego and Rep. Gomez did not respond to the Daily Mail's request for comment. 'Glass House Farms were visited today by ICE Officials,' the company wrote in a statement on X. 'The company fully complied with agent search warrants and will provide further updates if necessary.' Its unclear how many arrests were made, but DHS released a statement indicating it was carrying out operations on individuals with criminal warrants.
