Man charged with threatening Iowa governor cites free speech

By RYAN J. FOLEY Associated Press
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa man charged with leaving a threatening voicemail telling Gov. Kim Reynolds she should be “hung for treason” is defending his comments as free speech. Harvey Hunter Jr., 48, is charged with first-degree harassment for the profane Jan. 5 message he left on a governor’s office phone line set up to gather input over whether Reynolds should continue the statewide mask mandate. Hunter called the governor a dictator and said “every single one of you need to be hung for treason for pushing this COVID scam.” Hunter says he was using his speech rights to criticize the government and has pleaded not guilty to the charge.