CSU professor charged with assaulting U.S. agents with their own tear gas

[ad_1] A professor at Cal State Channel Island has been charged with assaulting U.S. Border Patrol brokers with a lethal or harmful weapon — a canister of their very own tear fuel.

On Wednesday, a federal grand jury indicted Jonathan Caravello, 37, of Ventura on one felony depend of assault after he was arrested at a protest in opposition to an immigration raid at a Ventura County marijuana farm.

Prosecutors say that brokers deployed the tear fuel as a crowd management measure through the July 10 protest and that Caravello picked up a canister and lobbed it again at officers. If convicted as charged, he faces as much as 20 years in federal jail.

The incident unfolded throughout a heated conflict between protesters and brokers at Glass Home Farms’ weed rising web site in Camarillo. Caravello posted $15,000 bail and was launched on July 14.

The huge immigration operation led to the arrests of greater than 300 employees with out documentation throughout simultaneous raids at Glass Home Farms’ Camarillo and Carpinteria develop websites, in keeping with the Division of Homeland Safety. One employee died after falling 30 toes from a greenhouse roof in an try to flee federal brokers in Camarillo.

In the course of the operation, a crowd of a number of hundred protesters gathered on the Laguna Street entrance to the Camarillo web site. Prosecutors allege that protesters used their our bodies and vehicles to impede federal legislation enforcement from exiting the farm and threw rocks at brokers’ autos, which broke home windows and side-view mirrors.

“For brokers’ security, legislation enforcement deployed tear fuel among the many protesters to help with crowd management, guarantee officer security, and to permit legislation enforcement to depart the situation,” prosecutors mentioned.

Caravello is accused of chasing after a tear fuel canister that rolled previous him and throwing it overhand again at Border Patrol brokers.

He then allegedly left the protest and returned two hours later sporting a distinct T-shirt and footwear, in keeping with court docket paperwork. Border Patrol recognized him because the suspect who had beforehand thrown the tear fuel canister and tried to detain him. Caravello allegedly resisted arrest by repeatedly kicking his legs and refusing to present brokers his arms, in keeping with court docket paperwork.

Activist Angelmarie Taylor beforehand advised The Instances that she is one among his college students and witnessed Caravello being “piled on by a number of brokers suddenly” whereas making an attempt to help a person in a wheelchair as brokers pushed the group again.

Prosecutors initially charged Caravello with felony assault in a prison grievance filed on July 12 however later downgraded that to a misdemeanor cost. On Aug. 25, the professor pleaded not responsible to the misdemeanor and advised the Ventura County Star, “Something and every part I do at protests is to guard individuals. I might by no means deliberately hurt anybody.”

This week, nonetheless, a grand jury reviewed the case and finally indicted Caravello on a felony depend of assaulting a federal agent. He can be arraigned once more within the coming weeks, prosecutors mentioned.

Caravello was amongst 4 U.S. residents arrested on the immigration raid on suspicion of assaulting or resisting officers, in keeping with Homeland Safety.