The detective’s call came as Tara McGovern was driving to pick up 16-year-old son Atticus from class last fall. McGovern let the call go to voice mail, then listened after getting to the boy’s high school. “I have some things I’d like to discuss with you,” said Detective Ian Mallory of the University of Iowa police. Among them was an arrest warrant. A month earlier, the 45-year-old transgender musician had been part of a group protesting an activist speaking on campus against gender-affirming care for minors. McGovern was charged with two misdemeanors. Mallory explained when they connected. As it turned out, so had half a dozen others in the crowd of about 200 people. All were transgender. To McGovern, the goal was clear: Officials were trying to restrict protesters’ free speech by targeting the most vulnerable. A trial set to start Tuesday in Iowa City will test that assertion. Five of the seven protesters pleaded guilty, and a sixth is set for trial later this year. McGovern pleaded not guilty and plans to take the stand to testify, not just to defend LGBTQ+ rights but the right to assemble, reports the Washington Post.
“Law enforcement needs to understand that constitutional rights do indeed still exist,” said McGovern, who uses they/them pronouns. “People do have the right to protest.” And transgender people “deserve to be seen.”
After the protest, Tara McGovern was one of seven transgender people charged in connection with the event. While Iowa City is a politically liberal, socially progressive community, the state of Iowa has veered sharply right, and not just on LGBTQ issues. It was among 16 states to enact “Back the Blue” laws, increasing protest-related penalties following demonstrations over the killing of George Floyd in 2020, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Gov. Kim Reynolds signed Iowa's measure after her car struck a protester during a Black Lives Matter rally. “Conservative legislatures since then have been focusing on these violations,” said Timothy Zick, a professor at William & Mary Law School whose book, “Managed Dissent,” examines laws governing street demonstrations. “The penalties are going up; the criminal penalties are getting more serious. … I would not be surprised to see more of these prosecutions going forward.” Such issues are being taken up at the federal level.
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