Iowa Attorney General files lawsuit against Winneshiek County Sheriff

The Iowa Attorney General is suing the Winneshiek County Sheriff, accusing him of violating the state's sanctuary county law.

In a statement, Attorney General Brenna Bird said

Sanctuary counties are illegal under Iowa law. Sheriff Marx was given the chance to retract his statement, follow the law, and honor ICE detainer, but he refused, even at a cost to his home county. He left us with no choice but to take the case to court to enforce our laws and ensure cooperation with federal immigration authorities."

In February, Sheriff Dan Marx posted a statement saying his department would "interfere, block, or interrupt" federal agent actions if they weren't constitutional or did not have valid paperwork.

After Governor Kim Reynolds filed an official complaint about the post, the Iowa Attorney General's office found that it violated Iowa Code, and gave the Sheriff until 5 p.m. on Wednesday to remove the post and issue a clarifying statement created by the AG's office.

You can read the report from the Attorney General's office here.

The Sheriff's Office says in a statement today they did remove the post to demonstrate good faith, but did not post the clarifying statement.

You can read the full response from the Sheriff's Office, and the letter to Attorney General Bird here.

The lawsuit was filed in Polk County District Court.