CSU Professor Faces 20-Year Sentence After Indictment for Assault on Federal Agents During Farm Raid

Jonathan Caravello, a 37-year-old math professor at CSU Channel Islands, has been indicted by a federal grand jury following an incident during a July 10, 2025, immigration raid at a Glass House Farms marijuana facility in Camarillo, California. According to a tweet from California Globe, > "CSU professor indicted by federal grand jury. Faces 20 years in prison for assaulting federal agents at a Glass House Farms marijuana facility in Camarillo." If convicted, Caravello faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

The federal operation, conducted by the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. National Guard, targeted Glass House Farms locations in Camarillo and Carpinteria with criminal search warrants for suspected immigration violations. Over 300 undocumented workers were detained during the raids, which federal authorities described as one of the largest immigration operations in recent history. DHS also reported finding 14 children at the Camarillo property, although Glass House Brands stated none of its direct employees were minors.

According to court documents, Professor Caravello is accused of picking up a tear gas canister, which was deployed by federal personnel for crowd control, and throwing it back at agents. He was arrested during the heated clash between protesters and law enforcement outside the facility. Initially facing a misdemeanor charge, a federal grand jury later indicted him on a felony count of assault on a federal officer using a deadly or dangerous weapon.

The raids sparked significant protests, during which demonstrators reportedly threw rocks at agents' vehicles and impeded law enforcement. Tragically, one worker, Jaime Alanis Garcia, died after falling 30 feet from a greenhouse roof while attempting to evade federal agents. In response to the incidents, Glass House Brands announced it had terminated contracts with labor providers and implemented stricter compliance measures, including hiring former ICE officials as consultants.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California is prosecuting the case, emphasizing the severity of assaulting federal officers. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated that authorities would "prosecute to the fullest extent of the law anyone who assaults or doxes federal law enforcement." Glass House Brands, while cooperating with authorities, maintained that it had not knowingly violated hiring practices and that any minors found were not its direct employees.