Iowa governor, Kim Reynolds, has recently signed a law that affects those who participate in riots and protests in the state.
It has increased the penalties for these crimes.
Reynolds is a Republican and has signed the “Back the Blue” bill into law. This law states that rioting has become a felony instead of being treated as a misdemeanor. Penalties for blocking the streets will also increase starting now.
The governor tells the public to “encourage First Amendment rights to protest peacefully, but if you break the law, you’re going to be held accountable”.
Reynolds states that those individuals who are caught rioting, looting, or even attacking police officials would be “punished to the full extent of the law”. She says that the “public peace is too important, and the safety of our officers too precious, to tolerate destructive behavior”.
The law has come intact after the widespread protests that have occurred all over the nation after George Floyd, a Black man who had been killed by a police officer, Derek Chauvin, had happened back in May 2020. His death had been insinuated by the action of the white officer who had kneeled on his neck for more than nine minutes as he arrested the man due to an alleged case of being in possession of a fake $20 bill.
Democratic members of the Iowa Legislative Black Caucus had commented on Reynolds activity, saying that she did not reach out to consult with them when they had put the legislation together.
Reynolds is also being accused of abandoning the push for a ban on racial profiling by police officers.point 352 |
Chair Ross Wilburn from the Iowa Democratic Party calls it a “giant step backwards” since they were unable to push forward an “important discussion about anti-racial profiling measures and modernizing our public safety departments”.point 223 | 1
Last year, she had signed a law that banned chokeholds and was seeking to address police misconduct. Although she has done that, she states that there is “no contradiction between steadfast support for honorable and selfless police officers – the vast majority – and a commitment to improving policing.”
The American Civil Liberties Union’s Iowa Branch slams her comment as an “effort to shut down well-founded public criticism of abuses by law enforcement and government, especially from Black Lives Matter activists”.