Misael Ramos, an East Austin community activist, at a rally against a development in Dog’s Head. Ramos was arrested around 8:50 a.m. Saturday after his participation in an ICE protest on Sept. 20. (Michael Minasi | KUT News)
Misael Ramos, a candidate for Austin’s District 1 City Council seat, is out of jail after being arrested Saturday by the Texas Department of Public Safety on a charge of participating in a riot, a Class B misdemeanor.
The arrest came after Ramos attended a protest on Sunday, Sept. 20 against the recent shooting of Wilber Garces Perez by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Austin.
Ramos, one of six candidates in the District 1 race, was arrested at around 8:50 Saturday morning while he was walking his dog near the intersection of Stafford Street and Manor Road, according to his campaign manager Jeffrey Clemmons.
Ramos was booked into the Travis County Jail at 9:31 a.m. Saturday.
The Texas Department of Public Safety said in an affidavit that Ramos was identified through “a variety of records” including social media posts, cell phone video and government records.
“He was captured on camera taking construction barricades, sandbags, and other items and attempting to obstruct traffic,” DPS said in a statement to KUT.
Ramos was charged with rioting under section 42.02 of the Texas Penal Code, which prohibits a gathering of seven or more people from depriving others of a legal right, like access to a roadway.
At a press conference outside the Travis County Jail Saturday afternoon, Clemmons and other speakers addressed a crowd of over 100 people about Ramos’ arrest and detention. At around 5 p.m., Ramos was released from the jail on a $1,000 bail, according to his attorney Edmund “Skip” Davis. Ramos met with supporters who began chanting his name.
“At the end of the day, I am one of many cases that have been impacted,” Ramos said. “And I can’t imagine how some families have gone longer than a day without hearing from their loved one, not knowing where they are at, where they are located, and this has to stop. This terrorizing our communities has to stop.”
Denisse Vargas, Ramos’ neighbor, witnessed and filmed his arrest Saturday morning. The video obtained by KUT shows five officers in Texas Department of Public Safety and Texas Rangers uniforms surrounding Ramos while he was walking his dog and ordering him to stop.
“I live right up the street,” Ramos said in the video. “Let me walk my dog.”
Ramos said the officers told him there was a warrant for his arrest but did not provide details.
“I asked for a warrant, they couldn’t provide anything, and then they brought me in and they booked me,” Ramos said. “So I had no clue what it was until probably hours later when a friend actually came to visit me.”
At least three other people were arrested on charges of resisting arrest and rioting in connection with last week’s protest, according to Paul Quinzi, an attorney with the Austin Lawyers Guild.
Additional protests against the shooting and detention of Garces Perez are planned across Austin on Sunday.
The Travis County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled Jeffrey Clemmons’ name.