I filed my legal response in Sioux County Magistrate Court tonight to the criminal mischief charges filed against me by Sioux County, Iowa Attorney Thomas Knustle on behalf of the City of Orange City. We’ve asked Cherokee County, Iowa Magistrate Judge Lisa Mazurek to sign an order to dismiss the charges. As you read the Memorandum you will find the books I burned were later paid for. I did not pay for them nor did I specifically ask or authorize anyone to pay for them. But the books were paid for, none-the-less. And they still charged me with a crime. But that’s just ‘half of it’.
Here’s a quote from my closing statement in the Memorandum,
” Dorr was charged with criminal mischief in the fifth degree because of his protest and because he published the protest. He filmed himself burning the books, and then posted the video to the internet and Facebook to publish his message, to encourage public discourse in the marketplace of ideas. . In his effort to raise awareness on his side of an issue, the Library ignored its procedural policies and the police responded to the public outcry for prosecution by criminally charging Mr. Dorr. Likewise, Orange City ignored Iowa Code § 714.5, which allows for “arrangements [to] be made to make a monetary settlement.”
Instead, Mr. Dorr was treated unlike other library patrons who had not returned books, and but for his public protest, Mr. Dorr literally had “the book thrown at him” to teach him a lesson. But, what lesson? That the Library can avoid its procedural policy in lieu of protected First Amendment rights? That people can be treated unequally for non-returned books?
As noted before, if Mr. Dorr had protested in silence and destroyed the books yet the, books had been paid for, would he have been prosecuted? He still would be exercising his First Amendment rights. Regardless, the answer would be “no.” The only interceding fact in this case was his published protest. The Library ignored its policies and the police charge was selectively based upon nothing more than an act of protected First Amendment activities.”
Read the documents linked below that I filed with the District Court today.
(CAUTION: Only mature adults should read Exhibit 6 on my Affidavit in Support with Exhibits attachment. It includes vile blasphemies against our Lord and sexually depraved remarks sent to me through the comment section on this page, that the court needed to consider.)
Motion to Dismiss
Memorandum
Affidavit of Amended Memorandum and Exhibit Ten
Affidavit of Paul Dorr in Support with Exhibits
Resistance Motion
Reply Memorandum’s Support