Lang
7/18/20
Two West Liberty men face charges that they touched off a brawl in Iowa City earlier this month by yelling racial slurs.
Iowa City Police responded to Pints on South Clinton Street just before 10:15pm on July 1st for a fight outside. An investigation determined that 19-year-old Zachary Seering of Nelson Street and Ryland Oaks of Short Street, who turned 21 the day of the incident, yelled multiple racial slurs, including the “n-word”, towards customers at Pints. Multiple witnesses, including a police officer, confirmed hearing the two use racial slurs and the “n-word”.
Seering and Oaks were each charged with Disorderly Conduct, a Simple Misdemeanor punishable by a maximum of 30 days in jail.
A third man, 21-year-old Austin Duffy of Hazelton, was also arrested. Duffy told police he ran to the scene from the 500 block of Bowery Street after his girlfriend told him two men were yelling racial slurs and “Trump 2020” at her. Once at Pints, he turned around and began striking two men. It is unclear from police records if the two men were Seering and Oaks.
As Duffy was being pulled away by bystander, he turned around and punched another man in the head multiple times. The man fell to the ground unconscious from a head wound and was rushed to the hospital.
Duffy admitted to the altercation, and added that even if he were sober he would have done the same thing. He was taken into custody and charged with Assault Causing Serious Injury and Public Intoxication. If convicted on the charges, he could be sentenced to over five years in prison.