(Audubon) A district court judge has acquitted an Audubon County man charged with harassment; a second harassment case filed against him was dismissed.
The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office arrested Blake Johannes, 28, of Audubon for 1st-degree harassment in early February. The arrest stemmed from a message he posted on a snapchat story after ticketed by an Audubon County Deputy for speeding.
Johannes stated in the post with a picture of the ticket and an obscene gesture saying “I swear I’m going have to kill this cop, and “I will see you in court.” The post went to a group of friends, one of which was an Atlantic Police officer’s wife who showed the message to her husband. Subsequently, the post was sent to the Audubon County Sheriff’s Office, which led to Johannes’ arrest and 1st-degree harassment charge.
Mr Johannes argued this violated his 1st Amendment Right. His argument was litigated to District Court Judge Craig M. Dreismeier. Judge Dreismeier reviewed the case and approved the trial information and found sufficient evidence to warrant a conviction by a trial jury.
Johannes waived his right to a jury trial, and District Court Judge Maggie Popp Reyes heard the case.
Johannes stated he sent the message because he was upset with the deputy and felt he was being picked on and lied to. Johannes testified that “he was not going to kill this cop.” Johannes explained he has a small group of friends on snapchat and was not aware one of his friends is married to a cop. Johannes says he didn’t intend for the message to get to the Audubon County deputy who issued the ticket.
After hearing the case, Judge Reyes acquitted Johannes of all charges. Judge Reyes ruled in favor of the defendant’s argument that he didn’t communicate directly with the deputy and didn’t intend for the message to get back to him.
“Blake Johannes was acquitted in the first case by a well-qualified Judge, who ruled Mr. Johannes’ snapchat was not a threat,” stated Johannes’ attorney Tad Wonio. “The second case against him was dismissed following a written demand from our office.
“What the state did by arresting him and incarcerate him and charge him with three counts of 1st-degree harassment should frighten anyone who uses social media,” said Wonio. “This is why our client has requested our office to explore his options for a civil lawsuit. The court orders confirm the state was wrong for attempting to regulate our client’s free speech in criminal court.”
Audubon County Attorney Sarah Jennings respectfully disagreed with Judge Reyes’ ruling.
“Under case law, a person doesn’t have the right to threaten someone’s life, whether that person is a public figure, a police officer or a common citizen,” stated Jennings. “My argument was Johannes knew he had friends on snapchat that were friends with the Audubon County Deputy. The fact that the message said “see you in court” was the basis for my argument.”
Jennings filed the second harassment charge against Johannes related to the message viewed by the Atlantic Police Officer’s wife and the Atlantic Police Officer. That case was dismissed this week.
“There is case law stating you don’t have to be the object of a threat to sustain a harassment conviction,” said Jennings. “However, those were dropped after we lost the bench trial. If one judge didn’t find intent in the first case it’s likely another Judge will do the same. So I decided to dismiss the case rather than waste taxpayer money.”
Earlier this month, a southwest Iowa man won his free speech legal battle with the Adams County sheriff’s department and two officers who charged him with harassment for writing a social media post that profanely criticized a deputy.
The Adams County Sheriff’s Office will pay Jon Richard Goldsmith $10,000 to settle a federal lawsuit he filed in May alleging violations of his free speech rights, retaliation and false arrest.
