Riot

Iowa Senate Democratic nominee Josh Turek, pressed by NBC News on whether illegal immigrants should face deportation, said there should not be immediate deportation and instead backed a pathway to legal status contingent on background checks. He inaccurately cited Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Randy Feenstra as supporters of the Dignity Act; neither cosponsors the bill. The exchange intensifies immigration as a flashpoint in Turek's race against Rep. Ashley Hinson, who has criticized his record on ICE cooperation, immigrant benefits, and a campaign ad featuring sheriffs who limited detainer compliance. Critics call the Dignity Act amnesty; sponsor Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar disputes that characterization, calling it enforcement-first reform.

Orange County Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer is campaigning for reelection with the slogan "#NoLAinOC," framing Los Angeles — and its progressive district attorney George Gascón — as a cautionary example of what he says Orange County must avoid. Critics, including his opponent Pete Hardin, a former O.C. prosecutor, argue the messaging distracts from problems within Spitzer's own office, including harassment lawsuits filed by staff prosecutors. Spitzer denies the slogan is an attack on L.A., citing his UCLA education and police career there. The slogan revives a long pattern of O.C. politicians contrasting the county favorably against L.A., even as data shows homelessness, crime, and population loss trends in Orange County are comparable to or worse than those in L.A. County.

Former LAPD chief Bill Bratton has publicly warned LA mayoral candidate Nithya Raman against her campaign pledge to remove current Police Chief Jim McDonnell, whose term runs through 2030. Bratton, credited with reforming the LAPD and later leading police departments in Boston and New York, said ousting McDonnell could trigger a "mass exodus" from the force and called the move political posturing. He also criticized reports that Raman might replace McDonnell with George Gascón, the former LA County district attorney who lost reelection in 2024. Raman, aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America, has wavered on the issue but has not disavowed her stance, drawing contrast with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani's decision to retain NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar is seeking to become Minnesota's next governor, casting herself as a moderate Democrat who can repair the state's reputation and address pandemic-era welfare fraud scandals that Republicans have used to paint Minnesota as a cautionary tale of liberal governance. Klobuchar, who built a national profile during her 2020 presidential run and has served in the U.S. Senate, is widely seen as the favorite in the race.

Her campaign comes as Minnesota Democrats face scrutiny over fraud tied to pandemic relief programs, along with lingering political fallout from the 2020 murder of George Floyd and subsequent unrest in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Klobuchar is positioning herself against more progressive currents within her party, emphasizing pragmatic governance over ideological approaches associated with democratic socialism. The race is being watched as a test of whether centrist Democrats can reclaim ground in a state Republicans have targeted as emblematic of government mismanagement, with implications for broader 2026 gubernatorial and midterm dynamics.

Misael Ramos, a Democratic Socialists of America member running for Austin city council, was arrested on a misdemeanor "riot participation" charge stemming from a September 20 protest over the ICE shooting of Venezuelan asylum seeker Wilber Rafael Garces Perez. Texas Department of Public Safety troopers and special agents took Ramos, 40, into custody around 8:45 a.m. Saturday on an outstanding warrant, saying he was captured on camera taking construction barricades, sandbags and other items and attempting to obstruct traffic. He was booked into Travis County Sheriff's Office custody around 9:30 a.m. Ramos denies wrongdoing and plans to contest the charge; his attorney, Edmund "Skip" Davis, said Ramos was chanting and protesting, not rioting. Released later Saturday, Ramos addressed cheering supporters outside the jail, criticizing federal immigration raids.

Garces Perez was shot by an ICE officer during a DoorDash delivery after his car was sideswiped twice by an unmarked federal vehicle; he was later released into ICE custody with a bullet still in his back. ICE and DHS have said only that he was subject to "a targeted vehicle stop." The shooting has drawn criticism from Democrats and sparked ongoing protests in Austin, including a rally at the Texas Capitol.
Austin council candidate Misael Ramos was arrested on a riot charge tied to protests over an ICE shooting of a Venezuelan man.