Misael Ramos, one of six candidates seeking Austin City Council’s District 1 seat, was arrested Saturday morning on a charge of participating in a riot tied to a protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He was released later that day after posting $1,000 bond. Texas Department of Public Safety troopers arrested Ramos around 9 a.m. near Manor Road and Stafford Street. Ramos said he was walking his dog when officers approached him. By the afternoon, about 300 people had gathered outside the Travis County Jail to call for his release and criticize federal immigration operations. Supporters included members of the Austin chapter of Democratic Socialists of America and the Texas State Employees Union. The charge stems from a protest following the shooting of Wilber Rafael Garces Perez by an ICE officer. Austin police previously said three people were arrested and charged with riot participation in connection with that protest. DPS defines a riot as an assembly of seven or more people involving conduct such as creating an immediate danger of injury or property damage, substantially obstructing government functions, or using force or threats to interfere with someone’s legal rights. DPS provided video and photos that it said showed Ramos moving sandbags and a road barrier on Research Boulevard, obstructing traffic. An arrest affidavit says troopers used publicly available social media videos to identify his actions. It also says body-camera and phone footage recorded more than 100 people involved in alleged criminal mischief, assault and obstruction of a roadway or other passageway. Ramos declined to discuss the riot charge at the jail rally. Ramos’ campaign spokesperson, Jeffrey Clemmons, called the arrest political retribution and warned it could affect ordinary residents as well as a candidate on the ballot. Rev. Carrie Holley-Hurt of Austin’s First Unitarian Universalist Church also spoke at the rally, saying the situation was wrong. After his release, Ramos told supporters, “This is why I fight,” then criticized ICE and the Department of Homeland Security’s enforcement actions. A DHS spokesperson rejected Ramos’ remarks and said rhetoric of that kind was fueling increases in assaults, vehicle attacks and death threats against federal officers. Two of Ramos’ District 1 opponents, Amber K. Goodwin and Mike Nahas, issued statements defending peaceful protest and free assembly; Goodwin also criticized ICE operations in Austin. District 1 covers northeast Austin, and the city election is scheduled for November.