A Cal State Channel Islands professor who was arrested during an immigration raid at a cannabis farm pleaded not guilty Thursday in downtown Los Angeles to a charge alleging he hurled a tear gas canister at federal agents.
Jonathan Caravello, 37, a U.S. citizen and a lecturer in CSUCI's math department, is charged with one count of assault on a federal officer using a deadly or dangerous weapon, court papers show.
About 30 of Caravello's supporters attended the arraignment hearing in Los Angeles federal court, where a March 24 trial date was set.
According to the first superseding indictment and previously filed documents, on July 10, federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Border Patrol executed a massive raid at the Glass House Farms cannabis operation, which sits on a 160-acre property in Camarillo.
Prosecutors said a group of protesters gathered near law enforcement personnel around the farm's entrance and used their bodies and vehicles to impede law enforcement from exiting the location.
Later, protesters allegedly became violent, throwing rocks at government vehicles attempting to depart the location because of the danger and to provide security to a detainee who had been hospitalized. The thrown rocks broke windows and side-view mirrors, among other damage to the vehicles, prosecutors contend in court papers.
Law enforcement deployed tear gas among the protesters to assist with crowd control. When Border Patrol agents rolled tear gas canisters by protesters' feet, Caravello ran up to one of the canisters and attempted to kick it, federal prosecutors allege.
After canisters rolled past him, Caravello allegedly turned around, ran towards a canister, picked it up, and threw it overhand back at Border Patrol agents.
The U.S. Attorney's Office contends that as immigration agents attempted to arrest Caravello, he continuously kicked his legs and refused to give agents his arms.
If convicted, Caravello would face up to 20 years in federal prison, prosecutors noted.
Caravello's supporters say the defendant was peacefully protesting the raid, and was intervening to help a demonstrator in a wheelchair who was reported to have a tear-gas canister stuck underneath his chair.
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"Dr. Caravello was arrested while attending a non-violent protest of this administration's treatment of migrants," Michelle Ramos Pellicia, vice president of the California Faculty Association and a professor at CSU San Marcos, said in a statement. "Any fair observer would see that they were protecting others -- and we look forward to facing these charges at trial."
CSUCI previously released a statement on Caravello's arrest, saying the university was "currently gathering additional information to fully understand the circumstances of the incident."
The statement said, "At this time, it is our understanding that Professor Caravello was peacefully participating in a protest -- an act protected under the First Amendment and a right guaranteed to all Americans. If confirmed, we stand with elected officials and community leaders calling for his immediate release.
"The California State University remains committed to the principles of free expression, academic freedom, and due process, and will continue to monitor the situation closely."
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