A Johnson County jury Wednesday found a transgender musician and community activist not guilty of two misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and interfering with officers during a protest at the University of Iowa last October.
The jury deliberated about three hours following about a day of trial testimony.
Gina Messamer, the lawyer for Tara Dutcher, 45, of Coralville, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Johnson County Attorney Rachel Zimmermann Smith, confirmed the sealed verdict, which is the procedure in misdemeanor trials, which are not read in public court. The verdict should be filed online later.
“Being a juror is hard work,” Zimmermann Smith told The Gazette after the verdict. “We respect the jury’s decision and thank them for their service. The defendant got a fair trial and, regardless of the outcome , that is always the ultimate goal.”
Dutcher, who uses the they/them pronouns, testified earlier Wednesday about their role in the demonstration at the UI. Dutcher said they didn’t block a lane of traffic that officers wanted cleared for vehicles and instead stayed in a crosswalk.
Dutcher joined the protest rally before the event started at 7 p.m. to support transgender individuals protesting the speaker, Chloe Cole, on Oct. 16, 2023, at the Iowa Memorial Union, and those who attended the event who would be leaving after 8 p.m.
Dutcher testified they understood protesters could walk in a circle, staying in the pedestrian crosswalks, at the Madison and Jefferson streets intersection. The group was walking for about 20 minutes before UI police officers tried to move Dutcher and the others.
Dutcher said they didn’t like that Lt. Travis Tyrell, a UI police investigator who testified Tuesday, was “grabbing and pushing” people. Dutcher felt a responsibility to speak up and tell Tyrell and the other officers to not touch the protesters.
Dutcher, by going to trial and not taking a plea agreement, was testing Iowa’s law on public protests, which was enacted as part of the “Back the Blue” laws in Iowa and 16 other states following demonstrations over the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota in 2020, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Iowa’s law expanded protections for drivers who hit street protesters.
Dutcher was arrested with six others. Five of those charged pleaded to simple misdemeanors and received probation and deferred sentences.
Tyrell testified Tuesday that he regarded Dutcher as being in a leadership role because Dutcher had a confrontation with him and also told other protesters to stay in the group or in line when Tyrell and other officers tried to clear one lane for traffic.
Dutcher, who carried a “trans colors” flag and a pride flag, testified they weren’t a leader of the demonstration and the decision to march in a circle in the intersection wasn’t Dutcher’s. Someone else yelled, “Stay in the group,” Dutcher testified.
When a surveillance camera video was played Tuesday, Tyrell pointed out that incident and said Dutcher gave that command. The video was played during Dutcher’s testimony Wednesday, but they denied it was them giving that command.
The concern was over Tyrell touching, pushing or grabbing people, Dutcher said. Dutcher also was concerned because another officer, who used abusive language, had pushed protesters at previous events and was pushing people at this one.
Dutcher said they didn’t want to have any interaction with police and hadn’t in the past, but felt it was important to speak out when police were “hands on” with individuals.
Dutcher said they were familiar with protester’s rights and had learned about them through research on the ACLU website. Dutcher said police didn’t give an order for the protesters to disperse — and so they didn’t.
Dutcher recorded officers when they started touching people with the “intent” to document the behavior. A video shows Dutcher holding up a phone and confronting Tyrell as he asks protesters to move out of the lane of traffic. In the video, the officer is touching the shoulders of protesters to get them to move.
Tyrell grabbed Dutcher’s wrist, which Dutcher described as a “strong grasp.”
Assistant Johnson County Attorney Jacob Behnke asked if Dutcher had videos of the other officer being abusive in the past, or if that is part of a trial exhibit. Dutcher said no.
Dutcher denied wanting any interaction with police — only to raise attention to transgender issues.
The defense rested Wednesday after Dutcher’s testimony.
Sixth Judicial Associate District Judge Jason Burns denied the defense’s motion for a directed verdict because of insufficient evidence.
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The jury deliberated about three hours following about a day of trial testimony.
Gina Messamer, the lawyer for Tara Dutcher, 45, of Coralville, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Johnson County Attorney Rachel Zimmermann Smith, confirmed the sealed verdict, which is the procedure in misdemeanor trials, which are not read in public court. The verdict should be filed online later.
“Being a juror is hard work,” Zimmermann Smith told The Gazette after the verdict. “We respect the jury’s decision and thank them for their service. The defendant got a fair trial and, regardless of the outcome , that is always the ultimate goal.”
Dutcher, who uses the they/them pronouns, testified earlier Wednesday about their role in the demonstration at the UI. Dutcher said they didn’t block a lane of traffic that officers wanted cleared for vehicles and instead stayed in a crosswalk.
Dutcher joined the protest rally before the event started at 7 p.m. to support transgender individuals protesting the speaker, Chloe Cole, on Oct. 16, 2023, at the Iowa Memorial Union, and those who attended the event who would be leaving after 8 p.m.
Dutcher testified they understood protesters could walk in a circle, staying in the pedestrian crosswalks, at the Madison and Jefferson streets intersection. The group was walking for about 20 minutes before UI police officers tried to move Dutcher and the others.
Dutcher said they didn’t like that Lt. Travis Tyrell, a UI police investigator who testified Tuesday, was “grabbing and pushing” people. Dutcher felt a responsibility to speak up and tell Tyrell and the other officers to not touch the protesters.
Dutcher, by going to trial and not taking a plea agreement, was testing Iowa’s law on public protests, which was enacted as part of the “Back the Blue” laws in Iowa and 16 other states following demonstrations over the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota in 2020, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Iowa’s law expanded protections for drivers who hit street protesters.
Dutcher was arrested with six others. Five of those charged pleaded to simple misdemeanors and received probation and deferred sentences.
Tyrell testified Tuesday that he regarded Dutcher as being in a leadership role because Dutcher had a confrontation with him and also told other protesters to stay in the group or in line when Tyrell and other officers tried to clear one lane for traffic.
Dutcher, who carried a “trans colors” flag and a pride flag, testified they weren’t a leader of the demonstration and the decision to march in a circle in the intersection wasn’t Dutcher’s. Someone else yelled, “Stay in the group,” Dutcher testified.
When a surveillance camera video was played Tuesday, Tyrell pointed out that incident and said Dutcher gave that command. The video was played during Dutcher’s testimony Wednesday, but they denied it was them giving that command.
The concern was over Tyrell touching, pushing or grabbing people, Dutcher said. Dutcher also was concerned because another officer, who used abusive language, had pushed protesters at previous events and was pushing people at this one.
Dutcher said they didn’t want to have any interaction with police and hadn’t in the past, but felt it was important to speak out when police were “hands on” with individuals.
Dutcher said they were familiar with protester’s rights and had learned about them through research on the ACLU website. Dutcher said police didn’t give an order for the protesters to disperse — and so they didn’t.
Dutcher recorded officers when they started touching people with the “intent” to document the behavior. A video shows Dutcher holding up a phone and confronting Tyrell as he asks protesters to move out of the lane of traffic. In the video, the officer is touching the shoulders of protesters to get them to move.
Tyrell grabbed Dutcher’s wrist, which Dutcher described as a “strong grasp.”
Assistant Johnson County Attorney Jacob Behnke asked if Dutcher had videos of the other officer being abusive in the past, or if that is part of a trial exhibit. Dutcher said no.
Dutcher denied wanting any interaction with police — only to raise attention to transgender issues.
The defense rested Wednesday after Dutcher’s testimony.
Sixth Judicial Associate District Judge Jason Burns denied the defense’s motion for a directed verdict because of insufficient evidence.
Johnson County jury acquits protester charged after UI rally last fall
Tara Dutcher, charged with disorderly conduct and interference with police during a protest last fall, took the stand earlier Wednesday, saying they didn’t block traffic in the lane that police attempted to open for traffic.
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