Emma Jane writing for The Daily Iowan:
Kauble’s initial charges — one count of third-degree harassment, one count of identity theft under $1,500, and one count of tampering with a witness or juror — stemmed from an account he created on Feb. 8, 2024, one day after [University of Iowa Detective Ian] Mallory testified as a witness in a criminal trial.
That criminal trial was one where Mallory and Johnson County Attorney Rachel Zimmermann Smith targeted trans and non-binary people who were among the 100 or so protesting an anti-trans speaker (the protester in this trial, Tara McGovern, was acquitted). Mallory was testifying because he surveilled the charged protesters, again all trans and non-binary folks, over months.
According to the criminal complaint, Kauble used Mallory’s personal information without his knowledge or consent to create the X account @IanMallory4Iowa. He created posts mocking Mallory and criticizing his handling of the case in which he had recently testified, the complaint states.
The State of Iowa prosecuted a private citizen for a satire account criticizing an officer of the state using public records.
I think of Dan Kauble as a performance artist whose uses mockery and absurdity to criticize those in power. His greatest hits, as I remember them, are:
- Awarding Iowa City’s city manager a “Worst City Manager” trophy during public comment
- Bringing a ladder and a sign to get into the Iowa City city manager’s Zoom background while meetings were being held remotely due to COVID
- Handing the Johnson County Sheriff a remote control MRAP during discussions of its actual value beyond a toy. This episode is made better by Sheriff’s Brad Kunkel’s on-camera reaction.
To be clear: Kauble pleaded guilty, though we don’t know his reasons why, but this feels like the very reason the First Amendment (RIP) exists.