State Senator Arrested During RAGBRAI

SAC COUNTY – Adrian Dickey, an Iowa State Senator from Packwood, was arrested on July 24 while passing through Sac County as part of RAGBRAI. According to the Sac County Sheriff's Office, a group of more than 200 riders, including the senator, stopped in the middle of a rural roadway. The group stayed on the road for 80 minutes, refusing to leave after being told by deputies to move down the road to an open roadway. According to the arresting officer, he told Dickey that he needed to move or otherwise would be taken to jail; Dickey argued with the officer, telling him to arrest him, and was subsequently arrested.

Dickey was charged with Interference with Official Acts, a simple misdemeanor. His $300 bail was posted the following morning. A preliminary hearing will be held Aug. 8.

The senator’s lawyer released the following statement: “Sen. Dickey was riding in RAGBRAI earlier this week. He and his team took an alternate route that led them to a place where several hundred people were blocking a road. Sen. Dickey and his team were trying to get through the party of people and onto the bike trail, when a misunderstanding occurred between the senator and a sheriff's deputy. Sen. Dickey is innocent and believes that the evidence will show that he was not part of the party blocking the road.”

Dickey was first elected in 2021 as part of a special election and reelected for a four-year term in 2022. His district contains the counties of Keokuk, Jefferson, and Van Buren, as well as parts of Mahaska and Henry. Curiously, Dickey introduced a bill in 2022 that sought to limit the ability of law enforcement to interfere with businesses during RAGBRAI; this bill was inspired by Iowa State Patrol occasionally ordering businesses to stop serving customers to keep RAGBRAI riders moving. This bill did not advance past the subcommittee.