Immigration officials descended on a large Southern California cannabis grow house Thursday afternoon, prompting a multi-hour confrontation with protesters who blocked roads and faced off with federal agents.
The scene unfolded outside the Glass House Farms cultivation center, a 5.5 million-square-foot indoor facility south of Camarillo.
Glass House Brands Inc., the parent company of the farm, said in a brief statement on X that it “fully complied with agent search warrants.”
It was not immediately clear how many people were arrested at the facility.
Outside, dozens of protesters faced off against a convoy of federal officers who used gas canisters and flash-bang grenades to keep the crowd away from the former tomato farm.
Protesters waved Mexican flags, and some yelled anti-ICE slogans through loudspeakers. Less-lethal munitions peppered demonstrators, many of whom appeared not to be prepared for a physical confrontation with agents.
Farm equipment could be seen being loaded onto tow trucks and taken away.
“It’s just a horrible, a horrible situation. People are scared inside,” said Raquel Sanchez, a volunteer with an anti-deportation group that responds to immigration raids.
Workers inside the facility tipped off local immigration advocates when federal officers arrived, Sanchez said. Volunteers rushed to document the unfolding scene and share it on social media. As the minutes ticked by, more and more people joined the protest.
“These are not the criminals that Trump said would be targeted,” Sanchez said. “They don’t have another choice but to come to work. They are just gambling being deported on a daily basis.”
