A U.S. Army veteran detained during the immigration raid at a Ventura County marijuana farm last week said he plans to file a lawsuit against the federal government after agents held him in custody for three days. George Retes, 25, served in the Army for four years and deployed to Iraq.
He was driving to work his security guard shift at Glass House Farms in Camarillo on July 10 when he encountered federal agents conducting an immigration operation. He was next to the marijuana facility when protesters clashed with U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents. The Department of Homeland Security said the U.S. Customs and Border Protection was serving a search warrant at the farm. Retes tried to speak with the agents but said they ignored him.
"They ignored me," Retes said. "They didn't care what I had to say. They automatically accused me of just, I guess, doing something wrong. They escalated it from there."
Video from a CBS News Los Angeles photographer at the scene showed a line of agents telling the crowd to move back and disperse before they began deploying what appeared to be less-than-lethal rounds and tear gas canisters. Retes said agents shouted conflicting commands and smashed his window before he could understand what was happening. The veteran said they sprayed him with pepper spray and deployed gas before dragging him out of his car at gunpoint.
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