CFA Member Dr. John Caravello Acquitted of All Charges in Federal Case

Nearly a year after Dr. John Caravello, CFA member and CSU Channel Islands lecturer, was arrested and charged with a federal felony for allegedly assaulting a federal officer during the Glass House Raid, Caravello stood trial and was acquitted of all charges on April 9.

CFA has since put out a statement underscoring Caravello’s right to peacefully protest and speak out against the cruelty and inhumanity this administration has shown toward immigrant and other marginalized communities across the country.

During a press conference the morning after his acquittal, Margarita Berta-Ávila, CFA president and Sacramento State professor, emphasized how ongoing charges against peaceful protesters defending their communities are unsuccessful attempts to intimidate and harass them into quitting.

“What is happening is part of a growing pattern of unnecessary use of force, harassment, and sheer violence against community members who are exercising their fundamental right to protest, to organize, to speak out against the injustices they are seeing and living,” Berta-Ávila said. “As John has shared, this isn’t just about solidarity, this is about community power to address what is happening. What we are doing here now will determine the future. Our role as unions, as workers, as teachers, as labor, as community defense organizations, as civil liberty advocates, and so many more is to defend the rights of all.”

Trump’s U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli has so far charged over 100 people tied to ICE protests, and hasn’t won a single “assault on a federal officer case.”

“The federal prosecutor’s charge against Dr. Caravello is an abuse of justice,” said Michelle Ramos Pellicia, CFA vice president and CSU San Marcos Professor. “The federal administration used this case as an example to silence further political dissent by anyone who opposes its authoritarian regime. Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda is evidenced by the cruel, inhumane, and racist ICE abductions that have been happening around the country.”

“Here in Los Angeles, educators are on the frontlines protecting our students and communities from ICE terrorism,” said Julie Van Winkle, UTLA AFT vice president and AFT 1021 president. “We have been partnering with grassroots coalitions to patrol neighborhoods for ICE, providing essential resources to families who have been affected by ICE raids, and even physically preventing ICE agents from entering schools. We will not stand silently by and watch as ICE brutalizes and suppresses community members who stand up to their violence and threats. We stand with John Caravello and every other educator, union member, and community member who fights back against the violence of ICE and the Trump regime.”

When Caravello spoke at the press conference, he held firmly on the need for a collective front.

“This is a call to power,” Caravello said. “Attacks on us will be met with a coordinated resistance, a highly organized and disciplined resistance that will stretch from legal aid to direct action and everything in between. We will extend this support to all future attempts to repress our solidarity.”

Below is a collection of news articles that have covered Caravello’s story.

• CSU Professor Acquitted of Assaulting U.S. Agents During Immigration Protest – Los Angeles Times
• CSU Professor Accused of Assaulting Federal Immigration Agents During Camarillo Raid Acquitted. – ABC7 Los Angeles
• Jury Quickly Returns Verdict on CSUCI Professor in Assault Case – Ventura County Star
• Jury Acquits CSU Channel Islands Professor in Federal Ice Assault Case – NBC Los Angeles
• Man Charged By Trump Admin After Removing Tear Gas From Crowd Found Not Guilty – HuffPost
• Jury Acquits CSU Lecturer Accused of Throwing Tear Gas at Federal Immigration Officers – LAist