UI police officers detail night of Chloe Cole protest on opening day of protester’s trial

On the first day of trial proceedings for a transgender protester at the Johnson County Courthouse Tuesday, March 12, the state called three University of Iowa police officers who worked the night of the Chloe Cole protest to the stand.

The 13-person jury, which includes an alternate juror and will be narrowed to 12 at the end of the trial, was selected before lunch on Tuesday and examined whether to convict Tara Dutcher for interference with official acts and disorderly conduct.

Cole appeared in a lecture series hosted by the UI chapter of Young Americans for Freedom. In her Oct. 16 talk to a roughly 150-person crowd in the Iowa Memorial Union’s Black Box Theatre, she detailed her experience as a “de-transitioned” teenager and her work in recent years to share her story and stop youth gender transitioning.

More than 100 demonstrators circled the intersection of Madison Street and Jefferson Street during Cole's appearance. Police say Dutcher played a role in blocking the road and resisted police during the protest.

Dutcher is one of seven protesters who have faced interference and disorderly conduct charges. Five others have already taken plea deals that ensure they must only pay a fine. Dutcher is one of two protesters who decided to take their case to trial and could face jail time if convicted.

The assistant county attorney, Jacob Behnke, argued in his opening statement that protesters had attempted to block traffic at the Jefferson and Madison streets to get attention.

From February: Johnson County attorney avoids censure, but not scrutiny, for charging trans protesters

The attorney for Dutcher, Des Moines-based Gina Messamer, suggested that the jury should consider Dutcher’s consistent presence as an area activist and argued that they did nothing more than advocate for protesters who are similar in age to their own children.

Dutcher will take the stand on Wednesday as the defense’s lone witness, Messamer indicated to the judge at the end of proceedings Tuesday. Judge Jason Burns told the jury in the morning that he expected the trial could last two or three days, depending on the length of jury deliberations.

State’s witnesses feature police officers who worked the Chloe Cole event

University of Iowa police Lt. Travis Tyrell was first on the stand. Tyrell coordinated much of the response on the night of the Chloe Cole protest.

In body camera footage shown at the trial, Tyrell was shown urging protesters from the street. He told some protesters, “What you’re doing is illegal.” At one point, Dutcher appeared on the footage and said the demonstration was not illegal.

Tyrell also redirected traffic away from the corner and up the alternate route along a usual pedestrian walkway on the University of Iowa campus that leads into Bloomington Street after facing significant resistance from protesters when trying to clear the road.

He testified that there were only around six police officers on scene when they first attempted to move protesters aside and they made little headway until additional backup arrived.

Officer Adam Herrig was next on the stand, providing his recollection of the night. His testimony included an admission that police were not expecting the crowd protesting Cole on that night to be as large as it was months earlier when conservative commentator Matt Walsh visited campus.

More: Johnson County attorney faces censure for charging trans protesters at Chloe Cole event

Detective Ian Mallory manned a pan-tilt-zoom camera on the night of the event and was the third witness on the stand on the first day of the trial.

Mallory was the officer who filed charges against Dutcher after someone identified Dutcher as the person in the body camera footage during a meeting with the county attorney’s office related to probable cause. That meeting featured the county attorney and assistant county attorney, Behnke, as well as others. He could not pinpoint who identified Dutcher.

Dutcher’s attorney questioned why charges came more than three weeks after the event. Mallory said he works four 10-hour days rather than the typical 9-5 and was off on vacation from Oct. 20 to Nov. 1.

Mallory also monitors social media chatter in the area to help get a picture, for instance, of crowd size during a protest. In the past, he briefly monitored Dutcher’s social media when they expressed opposition to the sheriff’s office purchasing a second military-style vehicle in 2021.

Each officer admitted that Dutcher had spent time circling the block with other protesters and blocking traffic, but affirmed that once police began urging protesters from the left lane of Jefferson Street in an attempt to let cars through, Dutcher had not entered that portion of the road.

More: Everything to know about the Dubuque St. construction in downtown Iowa City

Judge chastises public after message to jurors left in bathroom

Judge Burns gently chastised the public crowd, which fluctuated in size throughout a full day of jury selection and trial proceedings, after the jury had left for the day on Tuesday.

The judge’s concern with a message scribbled by someone in one of the bathrooms. Burns did not specify what was written but did say it was likely an attempt to influence jurors.

He expressed disappointment with the crowd and said the “nuclear option” if more attempts to persuade followed was to close the hearing to the public, which he said he was against.

Burns also reminded the public that additional, more direct methods to influence the jury would come at a price for Dutcher, who he said could be forced into a mistrial if the judge felt the jury was swayed by those messages.

The Dutcher trial continues Wednesday morning.

Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at [email protected] or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ryanhansen01.

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Chloe Cole protester trial begins with testimonies from UI officers