Overview
- George Retes, a Ventura-born Army veteran, filed a civil-rights complaint in the Central District of California naming the United States, ICE, CBP, FBI, the Navy and unnamed officers.
- The suit alleges Fourth and Fifth Amendment violations along with California tort claims, including assault and battery, negligence, false imprisonment and a claim under the Tom Bane Civil Rights Act.
- Retes says agents blocked his car near Glass House Farms, shattered a window, used chemical agents, forced him to the ground, zip-tied him and held him for hours without explanation.
- According to the complaint, agents took a DNA sample at a Navy facility before transferring him to a Los Angeles federal jail, where he was strip-searched and held three days without showers or phone access before release without charges.
- DHS has said Retes became violent and obstructed agents, a narrative his attorneys at the Institute for Justice argue is contradicted by arrest video, as the suit seeks damages, fees and a declaration of rights violations.