MSNBC's Chris Hayes interviews U.S. veteran and citizen who was detained for three days after ICE raid on farm
George Retes: “They just put us in a cell without anything, phone call, attorney, speaking to anyone. They just threw us in a cell.”
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From the July 16, 2025, edition of MSNBC's All In With Chris Hayes
CHRIS HAYES (HOST): George Retes is a 25-year-old disabled army veteran and a United States citizen. He works as a security guard at Glass House. That's a legal cannabis farm in Ventura County, California. And last Thursday, as you might have seen, federal immigration agents raided that farm. Masked militarized agents descended on the area with what they call less-than-lethal weapons, which include rubber bullets and tear gas and the like, seemingly used indiscriminately against the crowd of workers and protesters who had shown up. Retes says he clearly identified himself as a citizen, but federal agents ignored him. They smashed the window of his car and dragged him out at gunpoint. The U.S. veteran then spent three days in detention without ever being charged with a crime. He was denied a phone call, legal representation, and medical care despite being pepper sprayed and tear gassed during the raid. His family had no idea where he was or how to contact him.
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HAYES: Will you first tell me just what it was like the moment when you realized what was happening at this farm? You worked for a third party contractor, you're security guard at this farm. And just describe, like, did you realize when all these folks roll up that that that was ICE?
GEORGE RETES (GUEST): So, my first thoughts were, like, just in shock. I was in disbelief, that, that all this was — happened. Honestly, I thought it wouldn't be a problem to go to work as, as long as I did nothing wrong, as long as I identified myself, who I was. And, clearly, it didn't matter if I was a citizen or if I was a veteran or if — if I identified who I was at all. It didn't matter to them.
HAYES: Was — tell me about the moment when you're you're in your car amongst this chaos when you actually get apprehended by ICE and what you said to them.
RETES: When I was getting apprehended, then they were banging on my window to leave or to get out. There was multiple officers, telling me to do different things. Some were telling me to keep reversing. Some were banging on my windshield to get out. And I was trying to tell them, like, I'm leaving, like, I'm leaving. Like, I'll get out of here. Like, I don't want any problems. I'm trying to reverse. I can't breathe because of the tear gas in my car. I can't reverse — I can't continue to reverse while there's protesters behind me, and you guys are banging on my window and just surrounding my car. And they didn't care. They continue to bang. They ignored everything I said, and they just they they broke my window, and they dragged me out.
HAYES: Did you tell them you're a citizen?
RETES: I did. That was the first thing I mentioned when I pulled up to where they were all lined up. I got out my car and that was the first thing I let them know was I'm a citizen. I'm just trying to go to work. I'm just trying to get to work.
HAYES: Did you tell them you were a veteran?
RETES: I did. I also let them know that I was a veteran, and, I wasn't doing anything wrong, that I'm just trying to get to work. I'm not trying to protest them. I'm not trying to fight them. I'm just I'm just a man trying to get to work.
HAYES: What happened once you got taken to detention? Explain what that situation was like, for me.
GEORGE RETES (GUEST): They took us in an SUV, a blacked out SUV, and they took us to a downtown facility, or a facility in downtown LA, where we didn't get there probably 'til late at night. And they booked us and everything and they threw us into a cell. They didn't care to check on any medical, any like issues wrong with us. They didn't care about what happened to us or anything, or why we were even there. They just put us in a cell without anything — phone call, attorney, speaking to anyone. They just threw us in a cell.
HAYES: And they just let you sit there for three days? I mean, like, there was no Miranda, there's no, you're under arrest, there's no like -- there's all these parts of process that happen if you get arrested for something that are required by the Constitution and by subsequent judicial opinions. You just sat in a cell for three days?
RETES: Yes, I sat in a cell for three days. I was in a normal cell the very first night. And Friday morning is when I went on suicide watch, and I was in a cell. And I was on suicide watch from Friday morning to the point where I was released.