A California State University, Channel Islands professor has been released from federal custody following a high-profile immigration enforcement operation in Ventura County last week.
Dr. Jonathan Caravello, a U.S. citizen and mathematics lecturer, was among nearly 100 people detained on July 10 during a federal raid at Glass House Farms, a cannabis cultivation site in Camarillo.
According to a criminal complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Caravello is accused of assaulting a federal officer by throwing a tear gas canister back at agents during the protest.
Supporters, including the California Faculty Association (CFA), dispute that account and said Caravello was assisting a disabled bystander who had a canister lodged under their wheelchair when he was detained.
“When he was taking the canister out is when he was jumped by ICE,” said Margarita Berta-Ávila, the president of the CFA. “Then from there is where the whole process started, as far as we got word as a union, that our union member John Caravello had been taken, kidnapped and we could not find him until Saturday morning.”
Federal authorities said the canister had been deployed to disperse demonstrators blocking law enforcement’s exit routes from the farm.
The CFA is calling for the release of all others still in custody from the July 10 raid and is urging elected officials to investigate.
A federal judge ordered Caravello’s release Monday from the Los Angeles Metropolitan Detention Center. He was released on $15,000 bond and is scheduled for arraignment on Aug. 1.
