Violent Cal State Professor Faces
Up to 20 Years in Prison

JONATHAN ANTHONY CARAVELLO

Update 9/3/25: Cal State Professor Jonathan Caravello has been indicted for throwing a tear gas canister at federal agents, according to U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli. He faces up to 20 years in prison.

In July 2025, ICE raided a California cannabis farm after a child labor trafficking investigation into two marijuana farms after agents found migrant children illegally working at the facility. 

But instead of outrage over child exploitation, mobs showed up to defend the illegal operations. Over 500 rioters descended on the site, some armed and violent—damaging federal property, injuring ICE agents, and even opening fire on law enforcement.

Among those arrested was Jonathan Anthony Caravello, a Math Professor with Cal State Channel Islands. 

Federal prosecutors say Caravello hurled a tear gas canister at officers and is now facing charges under 18 U.S. Code § 111 for assaulting, resisting, or impeding federal agents.

Yet in a shocking move, Cal State Channel Islands and the California Faculty Association are publicly defending him. In statements released shortly after the arrest, they claimed Caravello was being “targeted” and hailed him as a professor “deeply committed to his students.”

They’re not condemning violence—they’re excusing it. According to them, physically attacking federal agents during a riot is just “peaceful protest.”

Cal State Channel Islands and the California Faculty Association are standing behind a man federally charged for assaulting law enforcement in the middle of a violent riot that shielded child labor traffickers.

This is not free speech. This is not protected protest. It’s criminal behavior—and anyone who enables it, especially from a position of public trust, should be held accountable.

Tell Cal State Channel Islands and the CFA: Defending violent crime isn’t academic freedom. It’s a disgrace. 

Remove Caravello from the classroom—permanently.