U.S. Citizen Details Horrors of His Three-Day Long ICE Detention: 'A Violation of My Civil Rights'

George Retes, an Army veteran who was detained and held for days after last week's immigration raid in Camarillo, Calif., is now detailing his experience, warning Americans that what he endured could happen to anyone.

Retes, 25, says he was reporting for his security job at Glass House Farms, a cannabis farm, in Camarillo on July 10 when several federal agents surrounded his car and broke his window, pepper sprayed him and dragged him out— even though he identified himself as a U.S. citizen.

The man alleges he was held for three days without being charged, without getting access to a phone call or legal help, and without medical care for the chemical agents he came in contact with. Authorities also didn't let him shower or change clothes despite still being covered in tear gas and pepper spray, resulting in his hands burning throughout the first night he spent in custody.

The veteran recalled that he was taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, where was put in a special cell on suicide watch and checked on each day after he became emotionally distraught over his ordeal and missing his 3-year-old daughter's birthday party Saturday.

"What happened to me wasn't just a mistake— it was a violation of my civil rights. It was excessive force. And it was a failure of justice. I'm speaking out not just for myself, but for every citizen who could've ended up in my palace that day," Retes said in a statement. "I will not stay silent. I served this country, and now I'm demanding it do right by me."

Retes joined the Army at 18 and served four years, including a deployment to Iraq in 2019.

"I joined the service to help better myself," he said. "I did it because I love this (expletive) country. We are one nation and no matter what, we should be together. All this separation and stuff between everyone is just the way it shouldn't be."

He added that he plans to sue for wrongful detention.

"The way they're going about this entire deportation process is completely wrong, chasing people who are just working, especially trying to feed everyone here in the U.S.," he said. "No one deserves to be treated the way they treat people."

The Department of Homeland Security, however, appears to be denying any wrongdoing. Tricia McLaughlin, DHS' Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, said in a statement that they are investigating his case.

"George Retes was arrested and has been released. He has not been charged. The U.S. Attorney's Office is reviewing his case, along with dozens of others, for potential federal changes related to the execution of the federal search warrant in Camarillo."

The Ventura City native was not the only person taken into custody during that raid. In fact, during that chaotic showing, federal authorities arrested more than 360 people, one of the largest operations since President Donald Trump took office in January. Protesters faced off against federal agents in military-style gear, and one farmworker died after falling from a greenhouse roof.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, spoke on the raids recently, calling President Trump a "chaos agent" who has incited violence and spread fear in communities.

"You got someone who dropped 30 feet because they were scared to death and lost their life," he said, referring to the farmworker who died in the raids. "People are quite literally disappearing with no due process, no rights."