Homeland Security Claims U.S. Citizen Detained During July Raids was ‘Violent’; Citizen and Attorney Deny Claim
VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) – The Department of Homeland Security is now accusing George Retes, a U.S. citizen taken into custody during federal raids at two marijuana grow locations on July 10 of this year, of assaulting federal agents after he shared his experience of being detained for three days before being released without any charges publicly.
The government's claim was made via a social media post on Sep. 17, more than two months after the 25-year-old U.S. Army veteran's detention, but just one day after he penned an op-ed for the San Francisco Chronicle.
"As CBP [Customs and Border Protection] and ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] agents were executing criminal search warrants on July 10 at the marijuana sites in Camarillo, CA, George Retes—a U.S. citizen—became violent and refused to comply with law enforcement," stated a tweet from the Department of Homeland Security's official X/Twitter account on Sep. 17, 2025. "He [George Retes] challenged agents and blocked their route by refusing to move his vehicle out of the road. CBP arrested Retes for assault."
Where and when that assault charge was filed was not provided in the Sep. 17 statement, never shared with Retes during his three-day detention, and has not been filed by any law enforcement agency in any jurisdiction.
While Retes was not charged in connection with the July 10 federal law enforcement action, a CSU Channel Islands Professor, Jonathan Caravello, who was one of many protesters outside of the marijuana grow site in Ventura County was indicted on an assault charge for allegedly kicking a tear gas canister back at federal authorities attempting to disperse the crowd.
"They just asked me what I was doing, they asked if I was a citizen and I told them 'yes' I told them everything; I was a citizen, I worked there, they didn't care, they never told me my charges then they sent me away, they sent me to a place in downtown LA without even telling me what I was arrested for, they booked us I was there for three days and yeah in the facility, I can't say much, I was put on suicide watch," said Retes in July.
"They broke the window and they just dragged me out of the vehicle and then it took two officers to kneel on my back, one on my neck, and arrest me, even though my hands were behind my back," detailed Retes.
"My goal now is to get accountability for what has happened, not only for me, but for what has continued to happen to everyone else, Retes told Your News Channel. "Unfortunately it hasn’t stopped, so it’s mainly about getting accountability and bringing attention to what ICE is doing, what the government is doing—just holding those people accountable, because no one is above the law."
He joins other U.S. citizens seeking legal redress after being detained by federal immigration officials.
Earlier this week, 79-year-old Rafie Shouhed of Van Nuys filed a $50 million civil rights claim for injuries he sustained while being detained by federal officials.
The 25-year-old Ventura resident was one of the 375 people, including 14 children, taken into custody be federal officials on July 10.
Despite numerous requests for more information about Retes' detention, the Department of Homeland Security has not provided a direct response.
The Department of Homeland Security did inform Your News Channel that our prior reporting that George Retes was arrested and released without charges was, "inaccurate" and further stated, "There were more than 25 illegal aliens with criminal histories arrested during the operations at the marijuana sites in California on July 10. Additionally, many of the illegal aliens that the media counts as 'non-criminals' are actually terrorists, human rights abusers, gangsters and more; they just don’t have a rap sheet in the U.S. It is not an accurate description to say they are 'non-criminals.' This deceptive categorization is devoid of reality and misleads the American public, let us remind you that being here illegally is in fact a crime 8 USC 1325. We are putting the American people first by removing illegal aliens who pose a threat to our communities."
That email only quoted Your News Channel's coverage of George Retes and the claims made within that email are now part of a Freedom of Information Act requests filed by Your News Channel.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement denied the Freedom of Information Act request on Sep. 18, the day after tweeting about the alleged assault, and an appeal filed the day of the denial is pending a response within the statutory time limits set forth in federal law.
"I was in shock," Retes told the Los Angeles Times in an article published Sep. 26. "[The Department of Homeland Security had] an opportunity to say ‘OK, what we did was wrong, we’ll take responsibility.’ … It’s crazy that they’re willing to stand 10 toes down and die on a hill of lying and say I assaulted officers."
"George is taking this all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary, to make it easier to sue Federal officials," stated Anya Bidwell, an attorney for the Institute for Justice who is representing Retes in his federal lawsuit and who spoke with Your News Channel's Tracy Lehr earlier this month about the case. "There needs to be accountability. They can’t just disappear people without a remedy. That’s not right."
