Iowa Man Accused of Threatening Gov. Kim Reynolds Says He Was Just Giving His 'Opinion'

An Iowa man charged with threatening Governor Kim Reynolds by leaving a voicemail that said she should be "hung for treason" said he was simply expressing his opinion, the Associated Press reported.

"This is why we got the First Amendment so we can criticize our government," said Harvey Hunter Jr., a 48-year-old truck driver from Stuart, Iowa, a small town about 40 miles west of Des Moines. "It was my opinion."

Hunter is charged with first-degree harassment after the message he left on January 5. The message was left on a phone line that the governor's office had set up in order to collect input on whether Reynolds should continue Iowa's mask mandate.

"Every single one of you need to be hung for treason for pushing this COVID scam," Hunter said, according to a criminal complaint filed in Polk County, which includes Des Moines. Hunter also called Reynolds two derogatory names and said, "You need to be put in front of a firing squad."

Hunter has been charged with the most serious form of harassment under Iowa law because his comments included a "threat to commit a forcible felony" against the governor, according to a charging document filed this month.

In March, Hunter turned himself in to face the charge, an aggravated misdemeanor that carries up to two years in prison. Hunter has pleaded not guilty, and his attorney has filed a motion to take the governor's deposition during the trial, which is scheduled for June.

For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below.

The Iowa Department of Public Safety said last week that Reynolds and other elected officials have faced "widespread and alarming" recent threats, announcing a long-discussed $400,000 plan to erect a security fence around the governor's residence, Terrace Hill. A spokesman referenced Hunter's case last week when asked by the Des Moines Register for specifics.

In phone interviews Wednesday and Thursday, Hunter denied that he was threatening to kill the governor. Instead, he said she and other government officials who imposed COVID-19 restrictions that he believed were violations of freedom should be put on trial for treason and punished if convicted.

Hunter, a self-described conservative who said he believes central parts of the QAnon conspiracy theory, said that unlike a post on Facebook, the call would have never become public had he not been charged. He said he opposed the governor's decision in November to impose a limited mask mandate, which she lifted in February, and her previous restrictions on businesses and schools.

"I was a big fan of Gov. Reynolds until she started stepping on everyone's rights and freedoms," he said. "She's wanting to play a victim, when she's literally victimizing everyone else."

Under Iowa law, comments cross the line into illegal harassment if they are intended to intimidate, annoy or alarm another person and have no "legitimate purpose."

The Iowa Supreme Court ruled in 1989 that a man who wrote a profane letter to a state trooper who had ticketed him for speeding was not guilty of harassment. Only a small subset of "fighting words" intended to incite violence or injury amount to criminal harassment while profane and offensive language does not, the court ruled.

The First Amendment does not protect "true threats" that express a serious intent to commit violence against an individual or group, said Rita Bettis Austen, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa.

"That is a very high mark for a prosecutor to meet, and care must be taken not to chill protected speech in bringing a prosecution," she said.

Reynolds faced criticism from conservatives for using her emergency powers to impose public health restrictions as hospitals filled up with virus patients last November, including the mask mandate and limits on gatherings.

At the same time, public health experts have argued that Reynolds acted too late and has been too quick to fully reopen schools and businesses. Nearly 6,000 Iowa residents have died after contracting the virus.

Hunter said he was pleased that he wasn't forced to wear a mask while he was booked at the Polk County jail before he was released on bond.