It all started on 05/30/17 when Tony Miano from Cross Encounters were protesting outside of Planned Parenthood. It was on a Tuesday morning, which is when our local PP clinic does abortion procedures. You see protesters outside of or near Planned Parenthood in Iowa City pretty much every Tuesday morning.
Miano began preaching very loudly that morning outside the clinic. You can watch this video to get an idea of how loud he was, but it was loud enough to be heard inside the clinic. I'm sure it stinks to live nearby this clinic or to have a business near this clinic because of his preaching, but I'm also pretty sure that Miano doesn't care.
Within a few minutes of the start of his street-preaching, two Iowa City Police Officers pulled up and informed Miano that he was violating the noise statute. Once it was determined that he had already been warned about this during a previous police interaction, he was cited with Disorderly Conduct. Once again, you can watch video of their interaction here.
One day later, Miano reports that he was contacted by an attorney from Alliance Defending Freedom to represent him. He'd apparently seen the video encounter and offered to represent him. On 06/23/17, Miano pleaded "not guilty" to the charges of Disorderly Conduct and a trial was requested. A few days later, they specified that they wanted a "trial by jury," which was granted.
The case will go to trial at some unspecified point in the future. This case has grabbed my interest, so I'll keep my eyes out for it and provide updates.