NEIA Sheriff Gets Hearing Hearing on Request for Lawsuit Dismissal, Change of Venue

A hearing has been set to consider the request by Winneshiek County Sheriff Dan Marx to dismiss the lawsuit brought against him by Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird.

The suit stems from a February Facebook post by Marx said his office won’t assist federal agents if their immigration detainers requests aren’t “within constitutional parameters.” He also indicated that WCSO would actively work to block detainers, which he called an unconstitutional request from federal agencies to arrest or hold someone.

Bird acknowledged that Marx, in fact, had followed state law and complied with all detainer requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement prior to the social media post. However, she argued that Marx’s message suggested otherwise, which is in violation of state law.

In March, she gave Marx a deadline to take down his Facebook post and replace it with a post written by Bird or face a lawsuit. Bird and Governor KIm Reynolds also threatened to withhold state funding from Winneshiek County. While Marx’s post was removed, it was not replaced with Bird’s post. She announced the lawsuit shortly after the deadline passed.

Last week, Marx filed a motion in Polk County District Court to dismiss the suit and a change of venue, arguing his Facebook post was removed and WCSO has complied with all immigration detainer requests. He also claims the suit was filed in the wrong county and involved the wrong parties.

In a separate filing, Winneshiek County has also requested that the county be dropped as a defendant because all the claims are against Marx.

Tuesday (05.13), a hearing was set for June 13th to consider all motions in Polk County District Court.