Ventura veteran suing federal government attends Trump's State of the Union address

Veteran detained by ICE attends State of the Union

George Retes, an Iraq veteran from Southern California, received a special invitation to attend Trump's State of the Union address.  

LOS ANGELES - A 26-year-old Iraq war veteran, who is suing the federal government, had a special invitation to President Trump’s State of the Union address. 

George Retes was invited by Rep. Mark Takano to attend Tuesday's speech in Washington D.C. 

This comes just a week after Retes filed a lawsuit against the federal government for being unlawfully detained during an ICE raid last summer at a Camarillo cannabis farm. 

Army vet detained by ICE

The backstory:

On July 10th, 2025, chaos erupted at a cannabis farm near Camarillo when ICE agents and protesters clashed during a raid. Ventura native George Retes was in his Hyundai, driving to work, when he encountered federal agents on a skirmish line.

Images from SkyFOX show him exiting his vehicle then getting back in to follow agents' instructions. 

He said tear gas made it difficult to see anything. Retes recorded video on his cellphone of the encounter and can be heard gagging and coughing from the tear gas as he told agents, "I'm trying to leave." 

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Next thing he knew his window was broken and he was pulled from his car and detained. Retes told agents he's a citizen and Iraq war vet. 

In October, DHS claimed Retes became violent and refused to comply with law enforcement and was arrested for assault. 

Last week, Retes' attorneys filed a lawsuit, claiming he was deprived of due process. Retes was detained for 72 hours and never charged. 

Retes attends State of the Union 

House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Mark Takano invited Retes to be his guest at the State of the Union.

"George Retes is a U.S. citizen and an Iraq War veteran, and yet he was treated like an enemy by his own government. His story exemplifies the overreach and cruelty of the Trump Administration and their heavy-handed immigration policies, sweeping up innocent men, women, and children in a desperate bid to fill arbitrary quotas. I am honored to have George as my guest at the State of the Union. His presence will speak volumes," Takano said in a statement online. 

Retes spoke to FOX 11 a day after the address, "As much as Trump rambled about how great everything is going, not everything is going great. I am not among the worst of the worst. I am a US citizen. I'm a veteran. I'm a father. I never did anything wrong. They paint me as this evil villain with no evidence and the proof is there with the helicopter footage and they released me with zero charges. It just makes zero sense."