An immigration enforcement operation (conducted by ICE and the National Guard) on Glass House Farms, a massive cannabis farm near Camarillo, California, on Thursday quickly descended into chaos. As military vehicles arrived at the site, anti-ICE protesters were seen trying to block their path, jam their tires with Mexican flags, and smash their windows with flagpoles.
As the vehicles continued to advance, a reporter noted that “water or something else” was being thrown at the vehicles. My money’s on “something else.”
According to KABC-TV, ABC News’ local affiliate in Los Angeles, Glass House Farms employs hundreds of workers. “Border Patrol says it served a warrant on the farm because it is accused of hiring and harboring undocumented workers.”
The protest grew more intense throughout the day. KABC reported that agents tossed smoke canisters and flash bangs into the crowd. Some protesters responded by “throwing what looked like rocks” at the agents.
After several extremely sympathetic interviews with demonstrators, KABC reported, “A protester was seen apparently firing some kind of weapon at federal agents during the immigration raid at a farm near Camarillo on Thursday. It’s unknown if anyone was injured in the chaos.” [Emphasis added.]
“Some kind of weapon” would, of course, be a gun — but KABC seems to have a bit of trouble connecting the word gun to a protester, especially one who has just transformed into a rioter.
The reporter on the scene called it “some kind of gun,” but I guess ABC7 felt it would be too much to put that word in print.
Firing a gun at a federal agent is a serious crime and the penalties are severe. Naturally, authorities would like to identify this individual.
U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli reported that the FBI is offering a $50,000 reward “for information leading to the conviction of an Unknown Subject who appeared to fire a pistol at Federal Law Enforcement Officers near Camarillo.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, of course, was outraged over the raid. He posted a video (recorded by KTLA 5 News) that showed protesters running from tear gas and a distraught teenager whose mother had allegedly been detained by agents. He wrote, “Kids running from tear gas, crying on the phone because their mother was just taken from the fields. Trump calls me “Newscum” — but he’s the real scum.”
“Taken from the fields,” Gavin?
Newsom wasn’t the only politician trying to demonize ICE — or to direct a little attention to himself. Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) tried to characterize Glass House as a strawberry farm on social media. He wrote: “How many MS-13 gang members are waking up at 3 a.m. to pick strawberries? O’yeah, zero! … Trump said he’d go after ‘bad hombres,’ but he’s targeting the immigrant farm workers who feed America. Either he lied — or he can’t tell the difference.”
He was quickly called out by President Trump’s Rapid Response team: “This was not a strawberry farm and you know it. It was a marijuana facility, where unaccompanied minors were found— yet you continue to defend it. TDS has broken your brain, Jimmy.”
The protests continued into the night. Shortly after midnight, Fox News’ Bill Melugin posted an update. He reported, “Situation there is still ongoing & active.”
Here are some photos of the clashes between law enforcement and protesters.
A separate, smaller raid was conducted at a Glass House Farms facility in Carpinteria, California. Local media outlet, Santa Barbara Independent, reported that Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-CA), apparently ready for his 15 minutes of fame, was not allowed past federal agents. Speaking to reporters afterward, the lawmaker said:
Today, I was at Casitas Pass Road in Carpinteria where ICE was conducting a raid using disproportionate displays of force against local farm workers and our agricultural community. As a member of Congress and representative of the Central Coast, I have the right to conduct oversight and see firsthand what ICE was doing here. As soon as I walked up, I was denied entry and was not allowed to pass. This was completely unacceptable. There’s been a troubling lack of transparency from ICE since the Trump Administration started, and I won’t stop asking questions on behalf of my constituents.
In the clip below, Carbajal is seen being denied access by federal agents.
Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.
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