Misael Ramos Details Harrowing Arrest for Protesting ICE

Misael Ramos, a candidate for Austin City Council’s District 1, was released from the Travis County Jail just after 5pm on Saturday, Sept. 26. Ramos had been arrested this morning and held for close to eight hours on misdemeanor riot charges connected to his participation in a protest against ICE’s shooting of Wilber Rafael Garces Perez in North Austin on Sunday, Sept. 20.

Ramos’ release delighted a crowd of over 200 who had gathered outside the jail to hear comments from his attorney, campaign manager, and other supporters. He appeared suddenly at the side of the gathering to sustained cheers as the press conference neared an end, making his way through well wishers to the podium, where he was asked to describe his arrest by Department of Public Safety troopers earlier that morning. 

“I literally was walking my dog and this car pulled up beside me,” Ramos responded. “The man said, ‘Are you Misael Ramos, running for City Council?’ I said, ‘I don’t know you,’ so I kept going. And he jumped out of his car, and said that he had a warrant.”

Ramos said his dog snapped at the man, who was apparently a law enforcement officer, and the man put his hand on his gun, telling Ramos he could kill the dog if it bit him. Ramos asked if he would be allowed to drop the dog off at his home before being taken into custody. Then four vans, one a DPS vehicle and the others unmarked, pulled up. 

“There had to be about six or seven guys who jumped out and surrounded me,” Ramos told the crowd. “Luckily, right next door was my neighbor, filming the whole thing, and she reassured me that she had caught everything and she was going to stay there until the end.” Ramos said that a man from a nearby convenience store offered to take his dog back to his home. “I said, ‘Thank you,’ gave him the leash, and then they proceeded to arrest me,” Ramos said. “That was my morning.”

According to Ramos, he was still unaware of what he was being arrested for. He only learned after being transported to jail that he was being charged with participating in a riot. 

Ramos’ attorney, Skip Davis, provided the Chronicle with copies of the probable-cause affidavit authorizing his client’s arrest, which refers to the Sunday protest as a riot. “Recorded and observed on Open Source Social Media Videos, Ramos is seen dragging a traffic control device and sandbags to obstruct the street without the authority to do so,” the affidavit states, stating that such an offense violates state law. 

Davis told the audience on Saturday that he hasn’t seen video from the protest that shows anything resembling a riot. And he noted that Ramos was not arrested at the scene. 

“So if they didn’t arrest him at the scene, how did they know who this guy is?” Davis asked. “You have to come to the natural conclusion that somebody must have been perusing Instagram, Facebook, those collectible social media videos. But even when you see those social media videos, chances that you’ll be able to identify any particular individual who you’re not already familiar with are kind of slim. So it strikes me that they’re probably relying on artificial intelligence and facial recognition to identify people whom they’re accusing of having engaged in rioting. And we know AI ain’t perfect.”

George Lobb, a representative of the Austin Lawyer’s Guild, also spoke Saturday, saying that one of the conditions of Ramos’ release is that he not participate in any more protests, something that Lobb pointed out is a First Amendment right. Lobb also said that an unknown number of other protest participants have been arrested this week on the basis of what he called “bogus DPS warrants.” 

Lobb’s colleague at the Austin Lawyer’s Guild, attorney Paul Quinzi, told the Chronicle it is possible that 20 more people may have been issued arrest warrants for their actions at the Sunday protest, based on language in a probable-cause affidavit that Quinzi has in his possession, issued for a person arrested and released earlier this week. 

Quinzi quoted the probable cause affidavit, which is not readily available to the public. “Utilizing publicly sourced video footage, it is estimated upwards of 150 people were at the site of the protest, with at least 20 people observed performing criminal acts in association with the assembly, such as assault, obstructing a highway, and criminal mischief,” Quinzi read. 

The Chronicle reached out to Texas DPS to independently verify the number of riot participation arrests made this morning, and has not received a response as of publication.

This is a developing story.

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