On Thursday, a Linn County jury found David Alan Huston not guilty on two charges stemming from a June 24, 2022 incident in which he drove his pick-up truck through a crowd of pro-abortion protesters in Cedar Rapids.
Huston had been charged with assault by use of a dangerous weapon — vehicle, an aggravated misdemeanor, and leaving the scene of a personal injury accident, a serious misdemeanor, after the incident that occurred in front of the federal courthouse in Cedar Rapids. The protest was in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision earlier that day overturning Roe v. Wade.
The verdict came after three days of trial, during which Kyleigh Wright, who participated in the protest, testified that Huston’s truck drove around another car and came through the crowd, striking her. In response, she hit the truck with her sign and kicked it. Later, she went to the hospital for injuries related to the event.
Ayla Boylen, another protester, also testified that Huston’s truck came toward the crowd, where she and Wright were positioned in the crosswalk to ensure the safety of protesters crossing the street to return to their cars as the protest wound down. After stopping, Huston’s truck continued to lurch forward through the crowd. Boylen said she tried to stop him to prevent others from being injured.
Huston, his wife Lisa and their daughter Holly were in the truck during the incident. At the trial, Huston testified that when the light turned green he pulled forward and maneuvered around another car that was stopped to allow the protesters to cross the street, because the green light gave him the right of way. He described being surrounded by an angry mob of protesters who were attacking his truck as he drove forward. Lisa and Holly, who also testified, said they were afraid for their lives. They also claimed protesters were trying to enter the vehicle.
Huston didn’t stop, he said on stand, because he didn’t think he hit anyone and he didn’t think it was safe.
During the trial, both the state — represented by Black Hawk County Assistant County Attorney Heather Jackson — and the defense — represented by attorneys Mark Brown and Mark Meyer — played video of the incident captured by cameras from the federal courthouse building, near where the protest occurred.
The video is just under four minutes and shows Huston’s truck in the far right lane, pulling around another car, and maneuvering into the crosswalk. He stops. Starts. Stops. Over and over. A small number of protesters surround his truck.
Boylen and Wright say they were trying to stop him.
Huston said he was under attack.
Boylen and Wright say they feared for their lives.
Huston said they jumped in front of his truck and intentionally put themselves in harm’s way.
Huston was charged with the two misdemeanors on Aug. 28, 2022, two months after the incident. On Thursday, the jury deliberated for five and a half hours before returning the not guilty verdicts.
The case was handled by the Black Hawk County Attorney’s Office to avoid any conflict of interest, because Linn County Attorney Nick Maybanks attended the June 2022 protest, although he didn’t personally witness Huston drive his pick-up truck through the protesters crossing the street.
An investigation by the Boston Globe found that between May 25, 2020, and Sept. 30, 2021, there were 139 incidents of motorists driving through crowds of protesters. Out of all those cases, charges were filed in only 65 of them, and in only four were motorists found guilty.
In Des Moines, an SUV carrying Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds hit activist Jaylen Cavil on June 15, 2020. No charges stemmed from that event. In Iowa City, a motorist who confessed to intentionally hitting protesters in Iowa City on Aug 21, 2020 received a deferred judgment, which means his record will be expunged by 2024.
Iowa is one of many states with a law protecting motorists who hit protesters from facing civil penalties. The issue did not come up at trial. But it puts any future litigation into question.
Lyz Lenz is an author and journalist. Her forthcoming book, This American Ex-Wife: How I Ended My Marriage and Started My Life, is now available for pre-order.
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