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 wished to be a part of one thing larger 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 together with his spouse and two younger kids. 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 — one among 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 might 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 telephone name or see an lawyer, 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 a criminal offense. However after he wrote an op-ed about his expertise this month, DHS began issuing new accusations towards him — saying he was arrested for assault throughout 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 entire level in sharing my story, I’m making an attempt to warn as many individuals as attainable,” he mentioned in an interview this week. “It doesn’t matter when you’re [politically] left, proper, when you 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 vehicles and protesters, decided to make it to his shift.
He stopped brief when he stumbled on a line of federal officers who blocked his path to the farm. Retes, 25, sporting shorts and a hoodie, bought out of his automobile and tried to inform the federal brokers that he labored on the farm.
Brokers ignored him, he mentioned, and as a substitute instructed him to get out of the best way. So he bought again in his automobile, 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 automobile and federal officers started pounding on his automobile door. He mentioned they gave him directions to maneuver that had been contradictory.
The brokers smashed his automobile window, pepper sprayed him, pulled him out of the automobile and arrested him, he mentioned. He was handcuffed, and after his three days in jail, he was launched with none clarification.
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 can 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 will probably occur to me, it will probably occur to any one among 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 no cost, and his case was being reviewed, together with others, “for potential federal fees associated to the execution of the federal search warrant in Camarillo.”
A day after Retes’ opinion piece was revealed, the company mentioned Retes “turned 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 publish said that operations had been “extremely focused.”
“This type of rubbish has led to a greater than 1000% enhance within the assaults on enforcement officers,” the company mentioned.
Retes mentioned he was astounded to study 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 chance to say ‘OK, what we did was incorrect, 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 lawyer and senior lawyer on the Institute for Justice, mentioned it’s important 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’ll be able to’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 exterior of his automobile and stays by the driving force aspect as he tries to cause with the brokers. About 20 seconds later, he will get again in his automobile because the brokers press ahead. Inside seconds they encompass his automobile, on the identical time urgent protesters again as they start to lob tear fuel canisters.
Inside his automobile, Retes begins to report on his telephone. He’s backing up slowly, at an angle, till tear fuel makes tough to see the place he’s going, he mentioned.
“I’m making an attempt to go away!” he says as brokers bang on his automobile. There’s a loud crack as they break his automobile 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 automobile 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 tough to see his household, so he needed to depart, he mentioned.
He additionally needed to spend about $1,200 getting his automobile window mounted 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 believe 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.”
