The man charged in the killing of University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts requested his trial be moved out of Poweshiek County and into a county with more minority representation in its jury pool.

Attorneys for Cristhian Bahena Rivera on Friday filed a motion for change of venue, arguing that existing prejudice in Poweshiek County makes it likely "a fair and impartial trial cannot be preserved with a jury selected from that county," according to court documents.

Rivera's first-degree murder trial has been scheduled to begin Sept. 3 at Poweshiek County Courthouse in Montezuma.

Poweshiek County's connections to the case are plentiful: It's where Rivera worked and lived, where 20-year-old Tibbetts grew up, where she went missing while jogging in her hometown of Brooklyn in July, and where her body was discovered in a cornfield after more than a month-long search that drew national attention.

Months later, emotions and opinions surrounding Tibbett's death "do not appear to have cooled," Rivera's attorneys wrote.

The motion used as an example a story published Jan. 15 by Des Moines television station KCCI about Rivera seeking a trial delay.

The story, shared on the station's Facebook page, received hundreds of reactions and comments, many of them negative comments about Rivera's Mexican nationality. Others wrote that Rivera should be killed. The motion didn't indicate what county the commenters were from.

Members of Tibbetts' family have been outspoken against hateful remarks made about the Latino community. Her father, Rob Tibbetts, quashed attempts to make his daughter a "pawn" in the anti-immigration movement and her mother, Laura Calderwood, took into her home the son of Mexican immigrants who worked with Rivera.

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Rivera's attorneys said they spoke with potential witnesses — many of them Latino — who expressed fear and apprehension about testifying or cooperating in the investigation should the trial remain in Poweshiek County.

"These individuals fear reprisals from locals who hold strong opinions concerning Latinos following [Rivera] being charged," wrote the attorneys, who said they worry it will be difficult to find witnesses if the case remains in the county where Rivera lived and worked.

There is also concern among some members of the local Latino community of government interference in their lives, according to the motion, though Rivera's attorneys said most of the individuals are in the country legally.

Rivera's attorneys asked that court officials carefully select a new county for trial, taking into consideration Rivera's nationality.

"Without venue where a minority population is substantially represented, [Rivera] cannot be fairly tried and any jury pool chosen will have to be stricken," the motion reads.

It isn't uncommon for a defendant in a high-profile case to request their trial be moved.

In June, attorneys representing Jason Carter, who was charged with killing his mother days after a civil jury found him responsible for her death, asked that the murder trial be moved out of Marion County because of the case's publicity. Carter's trial was moved to Pottawattamie County.

Attorneys for Scott Michael Greene, who was charged in the shooting deaths of two police officers in "ambush-style" attacks in 2016, requested his trial be moved out of Polk County due to the media coverage the case generated. Greene's trial was later moved to Dubuque County before he pleaded guilty.

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Rivera's motion also referenced widespread media attention as possibly interfering with a fair trial in Poweshiek County.

"The pretrial publicity surrounding this case has been extensive and pervasive," the motion notes. "News crews from local and national news outlets descended upon the area interviewing family members and numerous community members. Stories, of all types, were aired on television, internet and radio concerning Ms. Tibbetts’ disappearance and how it impacted the Poweshiek county community."

The August arrest of Rivera, an undocumented immigrant working in Iowa, immediately added a complex layer of political polarization to the case.

President Donald Trump and Gov. Kim Reynolds referenced Rivera's case, calling the nation's immigration laws a "disgrace" and labeling the system as "broken."

Such opinions contributed to "further fanning the flames of prejudice and jeopardizing the fairness of these proceedings against [Rivera]," Rivera's attorneys wrote.

Rivera's attorneys referenced in the motion a January visit with Rivera, who is being held in protective custody in the Poweshiek County Jail, "for his safety from other inmates."

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The motion also references "veiled threats" directed at the attorneys representing Rivera.

In one example, individuals Rivera's attorneys called local "professionals" told the lawyers, “we truly hope you never come thru (sic) our doors."

The motion also referenced what was reported to be hundreds of locals who helped with the search for the young woman. A Facebook group created during her search and later renamed 'Remembering Mollie Tibbetts' has more than 58,000 members.

"The death of Ms. Tibbetts, it can be seen from this group, still very much remains in the forefront of the Poweshiek County community members' minds," the motion concludes.

Register reporter Anna Spoerre can be contacted at aspoerre@dmreg.com, 515-284-8387 or on Twitter @annaspoerre.