Twice arrested for comments to City Council, Newton man sues city under First Amendment

A speaker who was twice arrested and charged for criticizing police at a City Council meeting is now suing the city of Newton, alleging violations of his First Amendment rights.

Newton resident Noah Petersen repeatedly attempted to address the council in October 2022 about the city's police department after a highly-publicized incident in which a 19-year-old driver was arrested and wrongly accused of driving drunk. Petersen was charged in separate criminal cases with two counts of "disrupting a lawful assembly." A judge ultimately acquitted him of one charge and the city dismissed the other.

Petersen in his suit accuses Mayor Michael Hanson and Police Chief Rob Burdess of First Amendment retaliation, prior restraint, wrongful arrest and selective enforcement, all in violation of the U.S. Constitution.

He is represented by the Institute for Justice, a public interest law firm that, among other cases, recently won a lawsuit challenging a rental inspection ordinance in the Sioux County seat, Orange City, that allowed inspectors to get warrants to enter tenants' residences without consent even if they had no evidence of wrongdoing. Attorney Brian Morris told the Register the case showcases the importance of people's right to petition their leaders.

"If you think of anybody who wants to talk to local officials or criticize their government, in my mind, the quintessential place to go is to the City Council meeting," Morris said.

A spokesperson for the city declined to comment.

Dispute follows controversial arrest

According to his complaint, filed Thursday, Petersen's concerns about Newton police began after the arrest, which was publicized and recorded on a widely viewed online video, of Tayvin Galanakis. He was pulled over in August 2022 for failing to dim his car's high-beams while passing a patrol vehicle and was accused first of being drunk, then of having used marijuana. He was released several hours later after another officer found no signs he was impaired.

Galanakis has since sued the city over the stop, and several police officers have filed counterclaims against him for defamation.

Previously: A teen sued 2 Iowa cops over his viral traffic stop. Now they're suing him for defamation

Petersen says in court filings he was concerned not just by officers' actions during the traffic stop, but allegations that one of the officers had previously been accused of domestic abuse. The officer, Nathan Winters, was never criminally charged but at one time was subject to a restraining order regarding a former girlfriend.

Ordered arrested for addressing the Council

In his complaint, Petersen describes repeated efforts to request documents and information from the city about Winters' record, and to submit written statements to the City Council, all of which were rejected. Instead, he says, he decided to speak to the council directly.

At the time, though, Newton had in place a policy barring "derogatory statements or comments about any individual" during the public comment portion of council meetings. According to the suit, the policy was enforced entirely at the discretion of Mayor Michael Hanson.

After one meeting where Hanson ordered him to stop speaking and sit, Petersen attempted to read statements twice more at the city's Oct. 3 and 24, 2022, meetings. Both times, Hanson again attempted to gavel over him and ordered him to stop. Both times, Petersen continued speaking, including claiming that the police department was "pro domestic abuser," and both times Hansen ordered Burdess to arrest him. Petersen says at least one of the arrests resulted in him being strip-searched.

The lawsuit says that at one of the meetings where Petersen was arrested, a number of local landlords also spoke to complain about a rental inspection program and made personal attacks on city rental inspectors. Hanson, however, did not object to those comments, it says.

Setting a precedent on speech protections

Morris, the attorney, said the lawsuit could not only win recompense for Petersen, but clear up a "muddy area" of First Amendment law: Can constitutionally protected speech still be grounds for a criminal charge if officials label it "disruptive?"

"The Supreme Court's not super clear on when protected speech can support a criminal charge, and we think Noah's case could set the precedent at a high level that you cannot charge someone with a crime when the underlying content is protected speech, and that should just be a full stop," he said.

The case appears particularly clear-cut, Morris said, because the council had a written policy, since rescinded, that appears to explicitly discriminate against the content of speech, and because there are clear examples of the city selectively enforcing that policy depending on who was being disparaged.

Petersen: 'not okay to arrest critics'

Although Petersen wasn't ultimately convicted, he said the process has made him wary of bringing future complaints about local leaders.

"All my interactions with the city, especially being arrested twice, has really discouraged me from even engaging with them," he said in an email. "Since I’m not a wealthy landlord, it’s okay to silence and ignore my voice."

Petersen also said he hopes his case can set meaningful precedent to guide future courts.

"No one should have to fear being jailed for exercising their rights in a democracy," he said. "I hope this case can set a precedent to strike down unconstitutional rules (like Newton had) across Iowa and the rest of the country, to set a precedent that it’s not okay for the state to arrest it’s critics."

William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com, 715-573-8166 or on Twitter at @DMRMorris.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Lawsuit: City of Newton can't jail speakers for 'derogatory' remarks