Reginald Person II, who has autism, has never been pulled over by police in real life, but a special program held late last week allowed him to practice what would happen to put him more at ease.

Person, 39, of Severn, was one of many attendees of Pathfinders for Autism’s traffic stop practice event in Howard County. He said it helped him practice not being anxious in the situation.

“Since I’m on the spectrum, I wanted to learn the steps I should take to stay calm,” Person said. “When something like this happens, I want to know what to do.”

Gail Montgomery signed up her son Wesley to attend because he just earned his learner’s permit and she wants him to know what to expect. The Eldersburg mother-son duo came to Howard County so that he could get the practice.

“I want him equipped to handle himself, to lessen the chance of anything adverse happening,” Gail Montgomery said.

After going through the traffic stop, she realized they had never talked about what goes into being pulled over; she had never told him where the car registration was. Wesley went through the course twice to feel even more prepared.

“I’m feeling good,” Wesley Montgomery said. ” I felt like I communicated my actions clearly.”

Pathfinders for Autism provides resources for those on the spectrum as well as family and caregivers. Shelly McLaughlin, program director for the nonprofit, said this includes workshops and trainings as well as informational events such as the traffic stop practice, free of charge.

The organization has been offering traffic stop practices around the state since 2021; a free webinar on the topic can also be viewed on its website.

During the event, a Howard County Police Department officer simulated a traffic stop by sounding the police siren and flashing the lights. The officer then got out of the car and allowed drivers and passengers to ask questions in a controlled setting. Attendees can go through the simulation as many times as they’d like.

The next event will take place in Baltimore County on Oct. 30 at Security Square Mall, noon to 4 p.m.

“Any driver or passenger of any age is welcome to come because we also think everybody in the car should know what to do if the car gets pulled over,” McLaughlin said. “We want to reinforce that positive interaction, and we want to be able to really emphasize, Look, these are the people that will help you. These are the people you go to when you don’t feel safe or you need help.”

Attendees are given a “traffic stop toolkit,” an envelope with tips on how to interact with the police and disability disclosure cards.

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After they go through the course, they are encouraged to answer a survey and visit tents set up by Pathfinders, the Maryland Autism Society and Howard County Emergency Services. Participants could also practice calling 911 and learn about features such as texting 911 and enabling medical ID on cellphones.

Events such as this are crucial to building trust and understanding between law enforcement and the autism community, said Howard County Police Lt. John Lloyd.

“What [officers] are learning is also to be patient and to be understanding; not everyone you stop you’re going to know that they have a disability,” Lloyd said. “It’s putting you through this training scenario where if someone acts differently than you would expect them to act, that doesn’t always mean that there’s a criminal element. There could simply just be a disability that you cannot see.”

Lauren Dunaway, 18, said her parents “strongly encouraged” her to go to the mock traffic stop event with other students from the Glenwood Academy. Though she’s been driving for two years, the thought of getting pulled over was “extremely nerve wracking.”

Glenwood Academy is an Eldersburg private school that focuses on helping students with language-based learning disabilities; the school brought more than a dozen students to the practice Friday.

Though Dunaway, who lives in Ellicott City, had learned about what to do during her Driver’s Education course, the experience was completely different, she said.

“I am grateful that someone was with me in the car,” Dunaway said. “I felt like I might have freaked out over this, but I’m so glad I did it because now I feel more prepared in case it’s a real situation.”

Have a news tip? Contact April Santana at asantana@baltsun.com or at 443-834-7525.

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hurling a sandwich at a federal agent was an act of protest for Washington, D.C., resident Sean Charles Dunn. A jury must decide if it was also a federal crime.

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“No matter who you are, you can’t just go around throwing stuff at people because you’re mad,” Assistant U.S. Attorney John Parron told jurors on Tuesday at the start of Dunn’s trial on a misdemeanor assault charge.

Dunn doesn’t dispute that he threw his subway-style sandwich at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent outside a nightclub on the night of Aug. 10. It was an “exclamation point” for Dunn as he expressed his opposition to President Donald Trump’s law-enforcement surge in the nation’s capital, defense attorney Julia Gatto said during the trial’s opening statements.

“It was a harmless gesture at the end of him exercising his right to speak out,” Gatto said. “He is overwhelmingly not guilty.”

A bystander’s cellphone video of the confrontation went viral on social media, turning Dunn into a symbol of resistance against Trump’s monthslong federal takeover. Murals depicting him mid-throw popped up in the city virtually overnight.

“He did it. He threw the sandwich,” Gatto told jurors. “And now the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia has turned that moment — a thrown sandwich — into a criminal case, a federal criminal case charging a federal offense.”

A grand jury refused to indict Dunn on a felony assault count, part of a pattern of pushback against the Justice Department’s prosecution of surge-related criminal cases. After the rare rebuke from the grand jury, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office charged Dunn instead with a misdemeanor.

CBP Agent Gregory Lairmore, the government’s first witness, said the sandwich “exploded” when it struck his chest hard enough that he could feel it through his ballistic vest.

“You could smell the onions and the mustard,” he recalled.

Lairmore and other CBP agents were standing in front of a club hosting a “Latin Night” when Dunn approached and shouted profanities at them, calling them “fascists” and “racists” and chanting “shame” toward them.

“Why are you here? I don’t want you in my city!” Dunn shouted, according to police.

Lairmore testified that he and the other agents tried to de-escalate the situation.

“He was red-faced. Enraged. Calling me and my colleagues all kinds of names,” he said. “I didn’t respond. That’s his constitutional right to express his opinion.”

After throwing the sandwich, Dunn ran away but was apprehended about a block away.

Later, once the viral video spread on the internet, Lairmore ‘s colleagues jokingly gave him gifts making light of the incident, including a subway sandwich-shaped plush toy and a patch that said “felony footlong.” Defense attorney Sabrina Schroff pointed to those as proof that the agents recognize this case is “overblown” and “worthy of a joke.”

Parron told jurors that everybody is entitled to their views about Trump’s federal surge.

“Respectfully, that’s not what this case is about,” the prosecutor said. “You just can’t do what the defendant did here. He crossed a line.”

Dunn was a Justice Department employee who worked as an international affairs specialist in its criminal division. After Dunn’s arrest, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced his firing in a social media post that referred to him as “an example of the Deep State.”

He was released from custody but rearrested when a team of armed federal agents in riot gear raided his home. The White House posted a highly produced “propaganda” video of the raid on its official X account, Dunn’s lawyers said. They noted that Dunn had offered to surrender to police before the raid.

Dunn’s lawyers have argued that the posts by Bondi and the White House prove Dunn was impermissibly targeted for his political speech. They urged U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols to dismiss the case for what they allege is a vindictive and selective prosecution. Nichols, who was nominated by Trump, didn’t rule on that request before the trial started Monday.

Dunn is charged with assaulting, resisting, opposing, impeding, intimidating and interfering with a federal officer. Dozens of Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol were convicted of felonies for assaulting or interfering with police during the Jan. 6 attack. Trump pardoned or ordered the dismissal of charges for all of them.

St. Paul residents went to the polls Tuesday to choose between re-electing St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter to a third term in office or elevating one of four challengers to the role.

Among those challengers, the ranked-choice election included state Rep. Kaohly Her, who entered the mayor’s race in August with a strong following but a short lead time to make her case for overhauling leadership at City Hall.

Results expected tonight

Results are expected Tuesday night, thanks to new open-source software acquired by St. Paul for the purpose of digitally reallocating ballots in instant run-off elections.

Ramsey County Elections planned to publish unofficial vote totals and other electronic data as quickly as possible instead of waiting two days before a hand count, which had been the tradition in city council races where no candidate broke 50% of the vote on the first ballot.

Ballot questions

Voters also found two questions on their ballot.

One related to a 10-year St. Paul School District levy and the other asked whether to amend the city charter to allow for administrative citations, or civil fines for ordinance violations.

St. Paul mayor’s race

Carter has said his progressive record — which ranges from forgiving library fines and making youth sports free at rec centers to creating college savings accounts for all of the city’s newborns — has never faltered despite riots, pandemic and heavy pushback from the Trump administration, and he asked voters for three more years to continue that agenda.

Her, who once served as Carter’s policy director, has criticized the mayor for what she describes as a lack of general responsiveness to voters and prospective business owners. In light of the city’s fiscal challenges, she called into question whether the city should re-evaluate or hold off on several of the mayor’s Parks and Rec priorities, from a protected bikeway along Summit Avenue to a promenade overlooking the Mississippi River along Kellogg Boulevard.

Some voters have noted that on key issues — like the special school district levy and administrative citations — Carter and Her are well aligned as “yes” votes, and Her has worked closely on several of the mayor’s top priorities, including a citywide $15 minimum wage and college savings accounts for newborns.

Three other challengers are less politically experienced but have become increasingly visible over the course of the election season. Yan Chen, a University of Minnesota biophysicist, and Mike Hilborn, who owns a power washing company, have both criticized the mayor’s record on property taxes and spending, and Adam Dullinger, a licensed professional engineer, has presented himself as the race’s strongest proponent for bikeways and public transportation.

Support for candidates

While the mayor has lined up support from a majority of the city council, labor unions and progressive advocacy groups active in St. Paul elections like SEIU and Faith in Minnesota, Her has drawn the support of St. Paul Firefighters Local 21 and Teamsters Joint Council 32.

Some groups, like the St. Paul Area Chamber, have chosen to stay out of the race, with the chamber calling business growth stagnant both downtown and citywide. The St. Paul DFL, which is reconstituting itself, has not endorsed a candidate.

The winner of the five-way race will serve three years, instead of four, as a result of the city’s switch to even-year elections in 2028.

Other races

Meanwhile, there are other municipal and school board races on the ballot Tuesday in the east metro including a mayoral race in White Bear Lake. And, there are school levies on the ballot in a number of districts in Ramsey, Washington and Dakota counties.

For information on how to vote, on candidates and ballot questions go to twincities.com/2025/10/16/election-guide-dakota-ramsey-washington-races-ballot-questions/

Results from the races will be posted to twincities.com as returns come in Tuesday evening.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Chrysler is recalling more than 320,000 Jeep plug-in hybrid vehicles due to a faulty battery that can fail and lead to a fire, U.S. traffic safety regulators said.

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Chrysler, which is owned by Netherlands-based Stellantis, is aware of 19 reports and 1 injury potentially related to the issue.

Owners of the vehicles, which include 228,221 Jeep Wranglers model years 2020-2025 and 91,844 Jeep Grand Cherokees model years 2022-2026, are being advised to park the vehicles outside and away from structures until a remedy for the problem is determined. Vehicle owners are also being told not to charge their vehicles, the National Highway and Traffic Safety Agency said.

Interim notification letters are expected to be mailed to vehicle owners by December 2, 2025, with additional letters to be sent once the final remedy is available.

The number for the recall is 68C and owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 800-853-1403. Vehicle Identification Numbers for this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning November 6, 2025. Vehicles that were previously recalled for the same issue under previous recalls will need to have the new remedy performed, the NHTSA said.

The batteries were manufactured by Auburn Hills, Michigan-based Samsung SDI America.