A taxpayer‑funded university. A math professor. And a tear gas canister flying back toward federal agents’ heads.
That’s not a headline from some dystopian novel — that’s what court records are laying out in California, and it’s already lighting up every nerve of anyone paying attention.
Jonathan Caravello, a math lecturer at California State University Channel Islands, wasn’t grading papers when immigration agents rolled in on a cannabis farm suspected of child labor violations. According to a Department of Justice affidavit, he was allegedly out in the field, in the middle of a chaotic protest, identifying himself as a volunteer for VC Defensa — a left‑leaning activist group with a history of pushing back hard against immigration enforcement.
And what happened next? This taxpayer‑funded professor allegedly picked up a tear gas canister that Border Patrol had deployed and hurled it right back at them. Not once, but repeatedly, court records say. Close enough to nearly hit officers in the head. The same affidavit says he grabbed for an agent’s leg during the arrest and flat‑out refused to give his name.
You’re not going to find that in the glossy university brochure.
California State University Channel Islands @csuci professor Jonathan Anthony Caravello arrested after allegedly attacking federal agents at the ICE raid on a California farm and throwing a tear gas canister at law enforcement. pic.twitter.com/c9rJ5UHHqo
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 13, 2025
Here’s the kicker: this wasn’t some fringe mob. VC Defensa and the Party for Socialism and Liberation were publicly cheering people on to rush that farm, to physically stand in the fields and block federal agents — agents who later reported finding illegal immigrants with criminal records and unaccompanied minors in a site suspected of child labor exploitation. Let that sink in. A farm where minors might be trafficked into dangerous work… defended by a group whose volunteers are ready to square off with Border Patrol.
A California professor was arrested for allegedly throwing a tear gas canister at ICE agents but has been released on bond.
U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California,
Bill Essayli: “Professor Jonathan Caravello was not ‘kidnapped’ by federal agents. He was arrested… pic.twitter.com/GrwCjDnKiB— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) July 15, 2025
And while this is playing out, court records show Caravello has been released on bail, with an arraignment coming up August 1. VC Defensa is already celebrating his release on Instagram. The California Faculty Association and the university itself? They’re giving soft statements about “peaceful protest” and constitutional rights. Peaceful protest — while agents are ducking canisters being launched back at their faces.
“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,” CSUCI said in an undated statement responding to news of his arrest. “If confirmed, we stand with elected officials and community leaders calling for his immediate release.”
An important notification from CSUCI: Statement about Professor Jonathan Caravello being taken into federal custody during a protest. https://t.co/7knmXShvwH pic.twitter.com/aHlRGmYS26
— CSU Channel Islands (@csuci) July 12, 2025
There’s something deeper brewing here, isn’t there? A public employee paid with your tax dollars, stepping out of the classroom and into a confrontation where federal officers are under attack. A university system shrugging off the violence as “protected” expression. And an activist network encouraging more of the same.
What exactly was going on at that farm that sparked this showdown? Why were these groups so desperate to stop agents from doing their job — even when child labor allegations were on the table? And if this is what’s happening in broad daylight… what’s coming next?
