When Angelmarie Taylor and Jonathan Caravello heard federal immigration agents were raiding Glass House Farms, a cannabis facility, last July, they quickly headed over. By the time they arrived, federal agents had blocked off the road leading to the facility.
People gathered on the road near the blockade, desperate for information about their loved ones trapped inside, especially after workers texted that they were being told to shut off their phones and communication went dark. Over the course of several hours, the crowd documented the unfolding raid and protested the arrests. Agents deployed rubber bullets, pepper spray and tear gas into the crowd, which included children and elderly community members.
When a tear gas canister landed near his feet, Caravello threw it away from the crowd, in a high arc over the federal agents, Taylor said. He later removed a separate canister that had become stuck underneath someone using a wheelchair and tossed it away. Shortly after, Taylor said, an agent snatched him and pinned him to the ground as several other agents piled on top of him. Agents eventually placed him in a car and drove away from the facility, driving through protesters who tried to block them from leaving. Taylor jumped in a truck to try to follow Caravello, but agents threw tear gas through the vehicle’s window, she said. By the time she recovered, Caravello was gone.
