ARLINGTON, Va.—Today, the Institute for Justice (IJ) sent a letter to county officials in Decatur County, Iowa, calling on them to abandon their attempt to silence Decatur County resident, Rita Audlehelm. After Rita published an op-ed raising questions about a county official’s repeated failure to attend meetings in person, Decatur County sent Rita a letter threatening to sue her for defamation. That threat to sue Rita over her factual criticisms violates the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment, which protects Americans’ ability to freely criticize the government without fear of retribution.
Decatur County’s actions demonstrate why Iowa state lawmakers must pass HB 472, which would create an expedited path to dismiss frivolous lawsuits that are meant to silence people for actions protected by the First Amendment. Americans have a right to criticize their government without facing frivolous lawsuits from elected officials.
“Decatur County residents deserve to know what their elected officials are up to. That’s why I started attending the weekly Board of Supervisors meetings and publishing editorials about what happened,” Rita explained. “But rather that make these meetings available online, the County wants to silence my speech and keep the public in the dark.”
“Rita exemplifies what America stands for. She cares deeply about her community, she’s engaged, and she expresses her concerns thoughtfully through her speech,” said IJ attorney, Brian Morris. “In response, the County has tried to silence Rita through baseless and frivolous threats. That’s the work of kings, not elected officials.”
For more than a year now, Rita has attended Decatur County Board of Supervisor meetings. After some meetings, Rita expressed her opinions about the board’s business in editorial columns that were published by the Leon Journal-Reporter and/or the Lamoni Chronicle. Rita’s opinions were always rooted in the truth, yet the County Board took issue with her views, prompting Decatur County’s Attorney Alan Wilson to send Rita a letter threatening to sue her for defamation if she didn’t retract her pieces and stop talking about “any elected official of Decatur County.”
“Democracies falter when citizens lose interest or cannot ask questions, seek answers, and make comment without fearing government reprisal against them,” said Randy Evans, executive director of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council in an editorial about Rita’s situation. “When an elected official pursues a taxpayer for her fair comment and criticism, it seems like a strange way to protect and defend the Constitution.”
Officials in Iowa are free to intimidate and silence Iowans because the state lacks any anti-SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation) protections. The Institute for Free Speech gave Iowa an “F” for that exact reason. If passed and signed into law, HB 472 would allow Iowans to file an expedited motion to dismiss a frivolous lawsuit filed against them. If a court agrees the case is meritless, it will dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice, meaning it can’t be refiled, and potentially award financial damages to the individual.
Since its founding, IJ has filed dozens of lawsuits to defend Americans’ First Amendment rights. IJ fought and won two identical cases to this in Kentucky and in Wisconsin. IJ is currently suing officials in Newton, Iowa, for a similar situation, in which city leaders had Noah Petersen arrested during a city council meeting after he criticized them.