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Iowa

Political repression plays out state by state — shaped by local institutions, prosecutors, and movements for defense. These are the documented political prisoners and cases the census holds for Iowa.

76Documented
1In custody
49Released

Eras of repression in Iowa

Where Iowa’s entries fall across the census’s historical eras.

1910s 20 1930s 14 1960s 11 1980s 6 2000s 5 1800s 5

Recent dashboard entries from Iowa

The newest published events and reporting located in Iowa, updated automatically from the live dashboard.

Arrest

‘I was wearing a sundress’: Cedar Rapids protester speaks out after viral arrest video

Cedar Rapids, Iowa · KCRG
Protest

Hundreds rally at Central Park in Mason City for 'No Kings'

Central Park, Mason City, IA · Globe Gazette
Protest

Iowa City Starbucks baristas join a nationwide unfair-labor strike

Starbucks, S Clinton St, Iowa City, IA · KCRG-TV9
Protest

No Kings rally fills the Jackson County Courthouse lawn in rural Maquoketa

Jackson County Courthouse, Maquoketa, IA · Iowa Public Radio
Protest

Des Moines students walk out over the ICE detention of their superintendent

Iowa State Capitol, Des Moines, IA · NBC News
Arrest

About 15 people charged with unlawful assembly and failure to disperse at Iowa City protests after ICE agents tackled and arrested a local grocery worker, Jorge Gonzalez Ochoa

Iowa City, IA · The Gazette
Protest

Thousands line 8th Avenue for the Cedar Rapids No Kings protest

8th Avenue, downtown Cedar Rapids, IA · KCRG-TV9
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Documented cases

76 entries in the census — every one stays in the record, whether the case is open or closed.

D
Daniel H. Wallace
Released
Daniel H. Wallace was arrested under the Espionage Act for delivering a speech critical of World War I before...
F
Frank Wensil
Released
Frank Wensil was an IWW organizer and a delegate from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Frank Wensil was convicted at the ma...
S
Stanley Witkowski
Released
Stanley Witkowski was a University of Iowa graduate who publicly acknowledged destroying his draft card in Oct...
W
W. Theo. Woodward
Released
W. Theo. Woodward was listed in the National Civil Liberties Bureau's March 1919 compilation "War-Time Prosecu...

Institutions in Iowa

Prisons, jails, and detention centers in Iowa that appear in the census’s case files.

Camp McClellanDavenport, Iowa
11 cases
Indianola jailIndianola, Iowa
6 cases
Polk County Jail (Iowa)Des Moines, Iowa
3 cases
Iowa Department of Corrections
2 cases
Keokuk military guardhouseKeokuk, Iowa
1 case
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