AUSTIN, Texas — Austin City Council District 1 candidate Misael Ramos was released from the Travis County Jail following his arrest by Texas Department of Public Safety troopers on a riot participation charge tied to a North Austin protest.
Ramos was arrested Saturday morning on Manor Road. DPS said he was arrested after 8:45 a.m. and that he had an outstanding warrant stemming from a protest that happened six days earlier, after an ICE agent shot and injured 28-year-old Venezuelan national Wilber Garces Perez.
Full statement from Texas DPS:
“On Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, around 8:45 a.m., Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Troopers and Special Agents from the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) observed Misael Ramos, 40, of Austin, Texas, in the 2400 block of Manor Road in Austin. Ramos had an outstanding warrant stemming from his actions during the Sept. 20, 2026, protests in Austin, where he was captured on camera taking construction barricades, sandbags, and other items and attempting to obstruct traffic. Ramos was taken into custody and transported to the Travis County Jail for booking under the charge of riot.”
Ramos said he was walking his dog when multiple DPS troopers surrounded him and arrested him without showing a warrant.
“There had to be about six or seven guys who jumped out and surrounded me,” Ramos said.
DPS provided a photo and video it said showed Ramos appearing to move sandbags at an intersection. In a statement, DPS said Ramos “was captured on camera taking construction barricades, sandbags, and other items and attempting to obstruct traffic.”
Ramos said a neighbor witnessed the arrest.
“Right next door was my neighbor filming the whole thing, and she she reassured me that she had caught everything and she was going to stay there until the end,” he said.
Ramos’ campaign team, his attorney and other organizations held a protest outside the Travis County Jail at 4 p.m. Saturday, calling for more transparency about why he was arrested. Skip Davis, Ramos’ attorney, said, “I don’t know that from what I saw there was any riotous kind of behavior.” Ramos’ campaign manager, Jeffrey Clemmons, said, “He was not shown a warrant or it was not explained what this warrant was for.”
As the event was wrapping up, Ramos appeared from around the corner of the jail around 5 p.m, and walked to the crowd. His campaign manager could be heard reacting to the release, saying, “Oh my goodness, Misael is out.”
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Ramos said other families were also dealing with arrests without clear explanations.
“A lot of these families out here experiencing the same thing don’t know why they’re being picked up. They don’t what’s happening,” he said.
Jail records showed others were arrested on a riot charge days after the protest, but it was not yet clear whether those arrests were connected to Sunday’s protest.
DPS was asked to confirm who took the videos and pictures from Sunday’s protest, whether Ramos was shown a warrant, and why he was arrested days later. A response had not been received. The courthouse was closed Saturday, so a copy of the arrest warrant or affidavit was not obtained. Ramos’ attorney was asked for a copy but refused to provide one.