Federal agents shot legal observer six times with rubber bullets, deployed tear gas during Camarillo cannabis farm raid

On July 10, 2025, federal immigration agents raided Glass House Farms, a licensed cannabis facility in Camarillo, California, as part of a broader operation that day at two Southern California marijuana farms resulting in more than 360 arrests. Ventura-based attorney Vanessa Valdez was present as a legal observer when, she says, agents deployed tear gas and shot her six times with rubber bullets despite her identifying herself as an observer; she was struck while trying to flee, then crawled on the ground unable to see, and later sought medical treatment, believing at the time that a rib had been fractured.

The Department of Homeland Security disputed Valdez's account, with a spokesperson stating that agents deployed pepper balls, not rubber bullets, and only after "agitators" attempted to breach the perimeter. Contemporaneous reporting on the raid confirmed federal agents fired tear gas and smoke canisters at protesters who gathered nearby, and that National Guard troops were present in a force-protection role supporting the immigration operation. Valdez has filed a claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act seeking compensation for medical costs, lost wages, and emotional trauma, one of roughly $260 million in aggregate claims filed by people caught up in the raid campaign.