Lang
1/15/21
Multiple charges have been dropped against an Iowa City protest leader accused of trying to blind police officers during a demonstration last summer.
Online records indicate nine charges of Assault on a Peace Officer with Intent to Injure were dismissed with prejudice Thursday in the case of 25-year-old Matè Farrakhan Muhammad, an organizer for the Des Moines Black Liberation Movement who has changed his name from Mathew Bruce since his arrest.
Judge Paul Miller ruled that the Johnson County Attorney’s Office violated Muhammad’s speedy trial rights by waiting 46 days after his arrest to file a formal charging document, one more day than allowed by law.
But Miller also ruled that six charges of Assault on Persons in Certain Occupations Causing Bodily Injury and one charge of Interference with Official Acts related to the same allegations can proceed since they were filed weeks after his arrest.
Muhammad was initially arrested on August 31st, 2020 after a Black Lives Matter protest. Police say that while protesting outside University of Iowa President Bruce Harreld’s Church Street residence, Muhammad pointed a laser beam into the eyes of multiple officers, causing injuries which needed medical treatment. He reportedly ran when officers approached him, and they located him later that night on the 100 block of South Linn Street.
If convicted on the remaining charges, Muhammad faces a maximum of over 12 years in prison. He had initially faced as much as 57 years behind bars with the original charges included.
On Friday Judge Lars Anderson moved Muhammad’s trial date from February 16th to June 22nd. A case management conference is scheduled for April 16th.
