The Iowa City Council will hold the first of six listening post events on police reform at Mercer Park on Wednesday evening. Each of the six planned events will focus on an issue important to improving community policing in Iowa City. Wednesday’s listening post will focus on how to better handle situations involving mental health, […]
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Iowa City releases body-camera footage of law enforcement officers tear-gassing protesters on June 3
Three months after law enforcement officers used tear gas, pepper spray, flash-bang grenades and other munitions on protesters marching up Dubuque Street on June 3, Iowa City released two police body-camera videos from that night. The Iowa City Council had directed City Manager Geoff Fruin to release the footage at its Tuesday night meeting. During […]
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Des Moines BLM leader arrested in Iowa City, faces felony charges
Matthew Bruce, one of the leaders of Des Moines BLM, was arrested in Iowa City late on Monday night. Bruce has been charged with nine counts of assault on a police officer with intent to cause harm, a class D felony, and one count of interfering with official acts, a simple misdemeanor. According to KCRG, […]
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Iowa City man arrested for driving a car into protesters on Friday night
Late Tuesday afternoon, the Iowa City Police Department announced it had arrested a 45-year-old Iowa City resident for driving his car through a crowd of protesters gathered in the intersection of Gilbert and Burlington streets Friday night. Multiple people who had turned out for the march led by the Iowa Freedom Riders were struck by […]
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Iowa Freedom Riders return to the streets of Iowa City demanding more action from the city council and justice for Makeda Scott
On Friday night, the Iowa Freedom Riders led marchers through the streets of Iowa City in their first protest since early July. IFR organizers — joined by five members of Des Moines Black Lives Matter, who had been in Cedar Rapids earlier to deliver donated items to help people affected by the derecho — led […]
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Iowa City confirms police did use tear gas on protest marchers on June 3
Iowa City Police Department officers did use tear gas on protesters gathered on Dubuque Street on June 3, an assistant city attorney confirmed on Monday in reply to a citizen’s open records request. Little Village was provided with a copy of the email from Assistant City Attorney Susan Dulek, sent at 4:04 p.m. on Monday. […]
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‘We will not be silenced’: Protesters in Cedar Rapids march to City Hall and leave messages for elected officials (Updated)
“It’s time we get into some ‘good trouble’ … and this is good trouble today,” Advocates for Social Justice (ASJ) member Jorel Robinson said at the start of Saturday’s protest in Cedar Rapids. Robinson was referencing the words of John Lewis, a civil rights leader and Georgia congressman who died on Friday. “We’ve come here […]
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Advocates for Social Justice lead a protest march to Cedar Rapids Mayor Brad Hart’s house
Approximately 300 people marched in the heat on Friday afternoon from Monroe Park to Mayor Brad Hart’s house. The group kept up constant chants throughout the walk, including “this is what democracy looks like,” “Black lives matter” and “Black voices matter.” Friday’s march was the fourth event organized by the group Advocates for Social Justice […]
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‘It hurts, it really does’: Advocates for Social Justice feel silenced as Cedar Rapids starts process of forming police review board
Members of the Advocates for Social Justice (ASJ) said they feel their voices are being silenced after virtually meeting with city officials last week to discuss how to move forward with establishing a citizens review board in Cedar Rapids. The grassroots group has been meeting with city leaders over the last few weeks to discuss […]
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School board will meet with Iowa Freedom Riders to discuss their demands for change in Iowa City schools
The Iowa City Community School District Board of Directors will hold a work session on Wednesday with leaders of the Iowa Freedom Riders, dedicated to a discussion of IFR’s demands for changes in Iowa City schools. Some members of the board have already met with IFR representatives, but during its June 23 meeting, the board […]
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Iowa Freedom Riders protest in Washington, where Gov. Reynolds was reportedly staying the night
After the Iowa Freedom Riders’ success in getting the Iowa City Council to address their city-level demands last week, IFR turned their attention to their state-level demands and Gov. Kim Reynolds on Monday. Following a march in Iowa City, which attracted more than 150 people, a group of approximately 50 protesters drove to Washington, Iowa, […]
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Protest march in Cedar Rapids turns into a celebration after the city council unanimously backs demands for reform
“Happy Juneteenth,” the crowd of about 150 people chanted on Friday as they marched from Cedar Rapids City Hall to the African American Museum of Iowa in light rain. June 19 — Juneteenth — is the anniversary of the day in 1865 when the news that slavery had been abolished reached formerly enslaved people in […]
