A California professor was arrested during a raid on a marijuana farm last week after allegedly throwing a tear gas canister at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
Jonathan Anthony Caravello, a philosophy and mathematics lecturer at California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI), was detained by federal agents during a riot at Glass House Farms in Carpinteria on Thursday, July 10. U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said Caravello was “charged with a violation of 18 USC 111,” assaulting or resisting a federal officer.
An affidavit obtained by Ojai Valley News said “dozens of protestors attempt to obstruct the execution of the high-risk search warrant.” Caravello “ran towards the canister, picked it up, and threw the canister overhand back at [border patrol] agents.” The canister “came within approximately several feet above law enforcement’s heads.”
Some reports say Caravello was attempting to remove a tear gas canister stuck underneath someone’s wheelchair when he was arrested.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria A. Audero ordered Caravello’s release on a $15,000 bond during a court appearance on Monday. His arraignment is scheduled for August 1.
CSUCI said in a statement, “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. If confirmed, we stand with elected officials and community leaders calling for his immediate release.”
The university said it is still “gathering additional information to fully understand the circumstances of the incident.”
The California Faculty Association (CFA) condemned the “abduction and disappearance” of Caravello and other protesters, saying “these abductions are an attack on our constitutional rights to free speech.” The CFA described itself as “a labor union that centers antiracism and social justice work” in its statement before demanding the “immediate release of all of our members arrested, including Dr. Caravello, from federal custody.”
The raid on the cannabis farm resulted in the arrest of more than 350 illegal aliens. Additionally, 14 migrant children were working the fields, prompting an investigation into potential child labor law violations. One of the criminals arrested in the raid was previously deported in 2006 after being convicted of kidnapping, attempted rape, and attempted child molestation. One farmworker who fell from a greenhouse roof during the raid died on Saturday.