George Retes Jr. grew up in Southern California, and when he turned 18, he determined to serve within the U.S. Military, he mentioned, as a result of he needed to be a part of one thing greater than himself.
After a tour of responsibility in Iraq, Retes moved again to Ventura County this yr to discover a job and spend extra time along with his spouse and two younger youngsters. In February, he started working as a contracted safety guard for Glass Home Farms at its hashish greenhouses in Camarillo. Then, on July 10, every little thing modified as ICE raided Glass Home — certainly one of its largest immigration raids ever — whereas he was making an attempt to get to work.
Federal officers surrounded Retes and pushed him to the bottom. He may hardly breathe, he mentioned, as officers knelt on his again and neck. He was arrested, jailed for 3 days and was not allowed to make a cellphone name or see an legal professional, in accordance with the Institute for Justice, a public-interest legislation agency that’s representing him.
President Trump’s Division of Homeland Safety by no means charged Retes with against the law. However after he wrote an op-ed about his expertise this month, DHS began issuing new accusations in opposition to him — saying he was arrested for assault through the raid, which the 25-year-old veteran has denied. Retes mentioned he by no means resisted, and now’s being focused for retaliation as a result of he spoke out about an arrest he sees as illegal.
“My complete level in sharing my story, I’m making an attempt to warn as many individuals as doable,” he mentioned in an interview this week. “It doesn’t matter for those who’re [politically] left, proper, for those who voted for Trump, hate him, love him, it doesn’t matter. This impacts all of us.”
On July 10, Retes was headed to work round 2 p.m., and the slim highway resulting in the farm was logjammed, he mentioned. He weaved his compact white Hyundai ahead, previous parked automobiles and protesters, decided to make it to his shift.
He stopped brief when he came across a line of federal officers who blocked his path to the farm. Retes, 25, sporting shorts and a hoodie, obtained out of his automotive and tried to inform the federal brokers that he labored on the farm.
Brokers ignored him, he mentioned, and as a substitute advised him to get out of the way in which. So he obtained again in his automotive, and as he tried to again up, brokers started lobbing tear fuel canisters towards the group to disperse them. Retes started hacking and coughing because the fuel seeped into his automotive and federal officers started pounding on his automotive door. He mentioned they gave him directions to maneuver that had been contradictory.
The brokers smashed his automotive window, pepper sprayed him, pulled him out of the automotive and arrested him, he mentioned. He was handcuffed, and after his three days in jail, he was launched with none rationalization.
In his Sept. 16 opinion piece for the San Francisco Chronicle — entitled “I’m a U.S. citizen who was wrongly arrested and held by ICE. Right here’s why you could possibly be subsequent” — Retes detailed his ordeal. He has begun to take authorized motion to sue the U.S. authorities beneath the Federal Tort Claims Act. Greater than 360 individuals had been arrested within the raid, together with quite a few undocumented immigrants, and one individual died.
“I served my nation. I wore the uniform, I stood watch, and I consider within the values we are saying make us completely different. And but right here, on our personal soil, I used to be wrongfully detained,” he wrote. “Stripped of my rights, handled like I didn’t belong and locked away — all as an American citizen and a veteran … if it might probably occur to me, it might probably occur to any certainly one of us.”
Homeland Safety officers didn’t reply to a request for remark or reply questions on their declare of assault.
Beforehand, an unnamed spokesperson for Homeland Safety mentioned he was launched with out a cost, and his case was being reviewed, together with others, “for potential federal costs associated to the execution of the federal search warrant in Camarillo.”
A day after Retes’ opinion piece was revealed, the company mentioned Retes “grew to become violent and refused to adjust to legislation enforcement. He challenged brokers and blocked their route by refusing to maneuver his automobile out of the highway. CBP arrested Retes for assault.”
The company denied that U.S. residents had been being wrongfully arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The put up said that operations had been “extremely focused.”
“This type of rubbish has led to a greater than 1000% improve within the assaults on enforcement officers,” the company mentioned.
Retes mentioned he was astounded to be taught the company’s newest claims about July 10 — moments that had been captured on video. He says DHS officers are mendacity.
“I used to be in shock,” he mentioned. The company had “a possibility to say ‘OK, what we did was fallacious, we’ll take accountability.’ … It’s loopy that they’re keen to face 10 toes down and die on a hill of mendacity and say I assaulted officers.”
Anya Bidwell, his legal professional and senior legal professional on the Institute for Justice, mentioned it’s vital that the federal government selected to reply solely after his piece was revealed.
“When individuals on this nation stand as much as this authorities, this authorities responds with fury,” Bidwell mentioned. “They’re making an attempt to impose their very own model of actuality. It’s so necessary for individuals like George to say, ‘I do know who I’m and I do know what occurred to me, you possibly can’t simply body it as one thing that it’s not.’”
In an aerial video that captured the preliminary confrontation, Retes is seen driving as much as the road of brokers. He steps outdoors of his automotive and stays by the driving force aspect as he tries to motive with the brokers. About 20 seconds later, he will get again in his automotive because the brokers press ahead. Inside seconds they encompass his automotive, on the identical time urgent protesters again as they start to lob tear fuel canisters.
Inside his automotive, Retes begins to file on his cellphone. He’s backing up slowly, at an angle, till tear fuel makes troublesome to see the place he’s going, he mentioned.
“I’m making an attempt to go away!” he says as brokers bang on his automotive. There’s a loud crack as they break his automotive glass window. “OK I’m sorry!”
The brokers pepper-spray him and detain him. One video posted on-line reveals a bunch of brokers surrounding Retes, who’s face down on the highway. One other agent hops in his automotive and drives it ahead and off to the aspect of the highway.
Retes mentioned one agent knelt on his neck and one other on his again. He was taken to the Metropolitan Detention Middle in Los Angeles, and he was stored in a cell with a protester who was additionally arrested. Whereas in jail, he mentioned, he missed his daughter’s third birthday.
After he was launched, Retes mentioned he was suspended from his job with out pay for 2 weeks due to the arrest, and when he got here again, his common shifts had been now not accessible. Staying on would make it troublesome to see his household, so he needed to go away, he mentioned.
He additionally needed to spend about $1,200 getting his automotive window fastened and detailed from the tear fuel, he mentioned.
Regardless of the Trump administration’s actions, Retes mentioned his religion within the authorities and accountability for justice stays regular. Similar to when he joined the Military, he mentioned, he nonetheless hangs on to a way of unity to face up for the nation’s values.
“I nonetheless consider justice might be restored — that’s why I’m standing up and talking out,” he mentioned. “I feel it’s necessary now greater than ever for us to be unified and standing up for our rights collectively. Particularly after they have the audacity to attempt to lie, particularly to the general public.”
