Being poor and asking for help shouldn't mean jail

Shelby Fleig | The Des Moines Register

Shelby Fleig, Des Moines Register

The ACLU of Iowa on Tuesday filed a federal lawsuit claiming the Adams County Sheriff's Office violated the free speech rights of a Red Oak man who wrote a profanity-laden Facebook post about a deputy and his actions at an outdoor festival.

The sheriff's office charged Jon Goldsmith with third-degree harassment for what they called "threatening" language in the July 2018 post. The simple misdemeanor is punishable with up to 30 days in jail and a fine of $625.

ACLU of Iowa/Special to the Register

The charge was dropped later in the year.

On behalf of Goldsmith, the ACLU of Iowa seeks damages for attorneys' fees and medical distress it says Goldsmith, 50, incurred. The ACLU also requests a judgment that the charge violated state and federal free speech rights, and asks the court to order mandatory free speech training for the sheriff's office.

"This is really a classic free speech case, and we are very happy to bring it," said Rita Bettis Austen, legal director for the ACLU of Iowa, at a Tuesday news conference. "We hope we will be able to protect our client's First Amendment rights in this case and get a declaration from the court finding that the actions of the sheriff's deputies in Adams County were unconstitutional."

The Adams County Sheriff's Office, reached by phone Tuesday, declined to comment on the lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.

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Citing similar cases — including a 1989 Iowa Supreme Court ruling that protected a profane letter from a motorist to a highway patrolman who cited him for speeding — the lawsuit also calls for an injunction to stop Adams County officials from "criminally charging people who speak out against law enforcement."

Repeating the court's 1989 ruling in State v. Fratzke, "Police officers don't have the right to put people in jail for annoying them."

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Goldsmith's Facebook post called Cory Dorsey, a deputy sheriff, "a f------ pile of s---" and a "stupid sum b----", and said, about Dorsey, "when you get s--- canned I'll hire you to walk my dog and pick up his s---."

Sgt. Paul Hogan filed a criminal complaint days later, saying Goldsmith "did intentionally write a threatening and vulgar statement about Cory Dorsey on Facebook."

Goldsmith said his angry post stemmed from interactions he observed between Dorsey and attendees at the "Lazy Days and Battle of the BBQ" festival in downtown Corning.

Goldsmith said he saw Dorsey stop a vehicle for a faulty brake light, before the officer allegedly forced everyone to get out the vehicle, gave them pat-downs, and searched the truck with a drug-sniffing K-9. No drugs were found, the lawsuit said.

Goldsmith said that shortly after, Dorsey "body slammed" a man named Mike Arthur "to the ground." Arthur is a retired fireman and acquaintance of Goldsmith, court documents said.

When Goldsmith saw Arthur's booking photo on the Adams County Sheriff's Office Facebook page the next day, he reacted angrily with the expletive-laced post.

After being charged with harassment, Goldsmith preserved the text of his post in an email to his wife then deleted his post and later deactivated his profile.

ACLU of Iowa/Special to the Register

He feared retaliation and experienced "anxiety, high blood pressure and difficulty breathing," the lawsuit alleges.

"A visit to his physician following the filing of charges against him showed that Goldsmith’s blood pressure was abnormally high and dangerous, and he was given a prescription medication to lower it to within the normal range," it said.

While the lawsuit seeks damages for Goldsmith, the ACLU of Iowa emphasized it aims to address a more widespread problem.

"It's not just about Jon and what occurred to him, but it's a fact that a lot of people, we would suspect, in Adams County, are being told that they can't criticize law enforcement officials," said Glen Downey, a cooperating attorney with the ACLU of Iowa. "This lawsuit is to remind law that they can't be engaging in that behavior, that they have to allow that criticism, no matter what."

The lawsuit alleges that the county displays "deliberate indifference to the constitutional rights of the residents and visitors," by failing to train officers about free speech rights.

In doing so, it points to two recent arrests in the county: one in 2018 for disorderly conduct when that individual began cursing at a deputy, and another in March for abusive (epithets) and threatening gestures after an individual said, “f--- you,” and "flipped the bird."

The case could be settled or go to a jury trial, which could take more than a year to resolve, Downey said.

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