Noah Petersen Lawsuit: Arrest, Ruling, and Qualified Immunity

The Noah Petersen lawsuit ended its liability phase in February 2026 when a federal judge ruled that the City of Newton, Iowa, its mayor, and its police chief violated Petersen’s constitutional rights by arresting him twice at city council meetings for criticizing local officials. Chief Judge Stephanie M. Rose of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa granted summary judgment to Petersen on his First Amendment, Fourth Amendment, and equal protection claims. The case now heads to trial on damages, and the city has appealed to the Eighth Circuit.¹

Why Petersen Was Arrested

On October 3, 2022, Petersen used the public comment period at a Newton City Council meeting to read a statement calling the police department “violent” and “pro-domestic abuse,” and accusing it of “currently employing a domestic abuser and choosing not to release the records about that domestic abuser.”² Mayor Michael Hansen ruled him out of order under a council rule barring “derogatory statements or comments about any individual,” and Police Chief Rob Burdess handcuffed him and arrested him for disorderly conduct.³

Petersen came back on October 24 and called the mayor and chief “fascists” who “need to be removed from power.” Hansen suspended the meeting and ordered him to leave. Petersen was walking toward the exit when a police lieutenant intercepted and arrested him for disorderly conduct a second time. After the arrest, Hansen told the remaining audience members to “go do your activism somewhere where somebody cares.”³

Jasper County prosecutors declined to bring the disorderly conduct charges, so lawyers for the city itself prosecuted them.² On February 1, 2023, an Iowa District Court found Petersen not guilty on the first charge, ruled that he “used no profane language and engaged in no activity which could be considered as boisterous or disruptive,” and found the derogatory comments rule “vague and overbroad for purposes of the First Amendment.”⁴ The city then dismissed the second charge and abolished the rule.

The Federal Lawsuit

Petersen filed his federal civil rights suit on October 12, 2023, in the Southern District of Iowa, represented by the Institute for Justice. The complaint, brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, named the City of Newton, Mayor Hansen, and Chief Burdess, with Hansen and Burdess sued in both their official and individual capacities.⁵ The suit alleged First Amendment retaliation, unreasonable seizure under the Fourth Amendment, and selective enforcement in violation of the equal protection clause.

What the Federal Court Ruled

Judge Rose’s February 23, 2026 order went against every defendant on every claim.¹

Viewpoint Discrimination and Retaliation

The court found the derogatory comments rule functioned as a “mechanism for silencing unwelcome criticism” and called its enforcement “quintessential viewpoint discrimination.” Hansen had let other speakers use words like “ridiculous” and “crazy” about city inspectors, but he stopped Petersen for criticizing the police. In a deposition, Hansen conceded that praising the department would, “of course,” not violate the rule.⁶

The court also rejected the city’s argument that Petersen’s speech was defamatory. Judge Rose ruled his statements about domestic abuse were “substantially true” and his use of “fascists” was “classic political hyperbole.” She wrote: “The Constitution does not permit government officials to silence criticism under the guise of preventing defamation.”⁷ She added that “no court of last resort in this country has ever held, or even suggested, that prosecutions for libel on government have any place in the American system of jurisprudence.”⁸

Unreasonable Seizure and Selective Enforcement

On the Fourth Amendment claim, the court held that the city “effectively manufactured probable cause by enforcing an unconstitutional restriction.”¹ On equal protection, Judge Rose found the rule was selectively enforced against Petersen based on his viewpoint, citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2024 decision in Gonzalez v. Trevino, which allows plaintiffs in retaliatory arrest cases to point to objective evidence that similarly situated people were not arrested.⁹

No Qualified Immunity

The defendants asked the court to shield them under qualified immunity. Judge Rose refused, writing that the conduct was “so obviously unconstitutional” that immunity did not apply and that “the constitutional principles governing this case have been settled for generations.” She dismissed Hansen’s claim that he was making a split-second judgment, noting he had “ample time to consider his actions.”⁶ The violations, she concluded, were “the deliberate product of city policy, developed and implemented by the municipality’s highest officials.”³

What Happens Next

The February 2026 order decided liability only. A jury trial will determine the compensatory damages the city, Hansen, and Burdess must pay Petersen.¹⁰

On March 17, 2026, the defendants filed an interlocutory appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, docketed as Case No. 26-1508. A scheduling order followed on March 25, 2026, and the appeal was still active as of June 2026.¹¹ The city has not made a public statement about the ruling. Hansen left office on December 31, 2023, after choosing not to seek reelection.¹² Burdess remains police chief.¹³

1
Iowa Capital Dispatch. Judge: City’s Arrest of Critic Is Quintessential Viewpoint Discrimination
2
Iowa Capital Dispatch. City Sued for Arresting Man Who Criticized Newton Mayor and Police
3
News from the States. Judge: City’s Arrest of Critic Is Quintessential Viewpoint Discrimination
4
Bleeding Heartland. City of Newton v. Noah James Petersen, Case No. SMAC016647
5
Institute for Justice. Complaint and Jury Demand, Petersen v. City of Newton
6
Reason. Iowa Officials Arrested This Guy for Criticizing Them Twice. A Federal Judge Says They Are Liable
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Newton Daily News. Judge Finds Newton Violated Constitutional Rights for Arrests at Council Meeting
8
Institute for Justice. Vindicated: Court Rebukes Newton, Iowa, Officials for Retaliatory Arrests After Citizen Called Them Fascists
9
Institute for Justice. Two Wins for the First Amendment
10
KCCI. City of Newton Discrimination Federal Court Noah Petersen
11
PACER Monitor. Petersen v. City of Newton, Iowa et al
12
Yahoo News. Newton’s Longest-Serving Mayor Not Seeking Re-Election
13
City of Newton. Meet the Chief