Lang
6/10/20
More details have been released about charges brought against an Iowa City protest leader by University of Iowa Police.
20-year-old Mazin Mohamedali of South Linn Street faces charges of 2nd Degree Criminal Mischief, 5th Degree Criminal Mischief and Trespassing. UI Police documents shed more light on the specifics of those charges, which were filed after incidents on the Pentacrest Friday and Sunday. They indicate that Mohamedali was one of three people who used hot pink spray paint to vandalize the sidewalk leading up the the Old Capitol. He’s also accused of kicking a plywood board into a $5,000, eight-foot fence around the Old Capitol in order to topple it. The fence was erected to prevent further damage to the building at the hands of protesters.
Police say Mohamedali “waved frantically” for others to help him topple the fence, then celebrated with them inside the fence once it was down.
If convicted, Mohamedali faces a maximum of over five years in prison. No charges are listed for the other two suspects.
Mohamedali had previously been charged with with Unlawful Assembly, Disorderly Conduct and a probation violation following protesters’ clash with police on North Dubuque Street on June 3rd. Mohamedali is on probation after a 2nd Degree Robbery conviction in 2018 after robbing the Mormon Trek Boulevard Kum & Go at knifepoint. That charge was pleaded down from 1st Degree Robbery.
Probation revocation documents indicate Mohamedali was found with LSD on his person upon his Monday arrest. The Department of Corrections also cites as a violation a Daily Iowan story in which Mohamedali was quoted as saying protesters shouldn’t face off with police until they were “more prepared”, and that they should be “ready for war”.
Mohamedali is also awaiting trial on a felony drug charge from earlier this year. He’s currently incarcerated in the Marshall County Jail until a space can open up for him at Hope House.
Mohamedali is one of the leaders of the group Iowa Freedom Riders, who has helped lead recent protests in Iowa City following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.