Was "Professor" Jonathan Anthony Caravello kidnapped at an anti-ICE Protest in Camarillo, California?

According to the California Faculty Association, Jonathan Anthony Caravelllo, "a respected educator" at  California State University Channel Islands, was "abducted" or "kidnapped" by federal authorities earlier this month at an anti-ICE protest in Camarillo, California. Caravello's employer, CSU Channel Islands, confirmed that "Professor" Camarillo had been arrested and that it was the university's "understanding" that  he had been "peacefully participating in a protest—an act protected under the First Amendment and a right guaranteed to all Americans."

The university's reference to Caravello as a "professor" implies that he's a scholar pursuing an academic career as a tenured or tenure-track academic. However, contrary to the CSU Channel Islands news release, Caravello is listed in the University  Faculty Directory as a Lecturer, not a Professor.

Of course, it doesn't make any difference in terms of his arrest whether Caravello is correctly described as a professor or a lecturer. Nevertheless, CSU Channel Islands apparently misrepresented Caravello's status, and the California Faculty Association incorrectly claimed that he had been "abducted" or kidnapped." Bill Essayli, the federal District Attorney in charge of the case, said Caravello was arrested for throwing a tear gas canister at federal agents, which is a serious offense.

Caravello denies the charges and may be innocent. One observer said that Caravello had merely been attempting to dislodge a tear gas canister from under the wheelchair of a lawful protester. 

Anti-ICE protesters can reasonably argue that law-abiding and hard-working immigrants who are illegally in this country should be given legal status and not deported. But no one has the right to throw tear gas canisters at federal agents. And no one should say that a man who was arrested for allegedly assaulting federal officers has been kidnapped.

Violence against law enforcement officers is on the rise. People have been throwing rocks and heavy objects at ICE agents and the police. It's only a matter of time before someone gets seriously hurt or killed. 

And when that happens, someone is going to go to prison for a long time, where people aren't living their best lives and prison guards don't know a preferred pronoun from a billy club. On the plus side, federal prisoners can probably get a deferment on their student loan payments while they're in stir.

Many Americans have strong feelings about the Trump administration's aggressive deportation policy, which is a legitimate topic of debate. But we all have a responsibility to debate this issue rationally and to discourage violence.