(ABC 6 News) – Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird announced a lawsuit against Winneshiek County Sheriff Dan Marx on Thursday.

According to a press release from AG Bird’s office, the lawsuit is for Marx’s violation of the state sanctuary county law by discouraging law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities.

It stems from a February 4 Facebook post from Sheriff Marx detailing how he would go about dealing with federal immigration agencies. It said his office “will make every effort to block, interfere and interrupt [ICE] actions from moving forward” if the sheriff determined their requests “were not within the constitutional parameters.” Sheriff Marx also used the term “sanctuary sheriff.”

The post prompted an official complaint by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds to the state’s Attorney General’s office.

Wednesday afternoon, AG Bird released the final report on her investigation into the alleged violation and determined Sheriff Marx did violate Iowa code with the social media post. AG Bird gave Sheriff Marx the opportunity to fix the violation by removing his original post and instead post a statement provided by the attorney general’s office that says Winneshiek County will comply with ICE detainers. The deadline to do so was set for 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 26.

If this is not done, AG Bird threatened to withhold state funding to Winneshiek County.

The next day, on Thursday, Sheriff Marx did take down the original post but did not post the statement AG Bird instructed.

Related: Winneshiek County Sheriff takes down Feb. 4 Facebook post after AG Bird’s investigation

The lawsuit calls for stripping Winneshiek County of state funding until Sheriff Marx follows procedures to reinstate the funding.

“Sanctuary counties are illegal under Iowa law,” said Attorney General Bird via a press release. “Sheriff Marx was given the chance to retract his statement, follow the law, and honor ICE detainers, 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.”

The full lawsuit can be found below:

The Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office issued a statement Thursday the reasoning for refusing to post the AG Office’s statement was because “the language of the post proposed by the Attorney General was not acceptable to the county.”

It further said that Sheriff Marx is committed to remaining “in compliance with state and federal immigration laws while staying true to the Constitutional protections afforded to the citizens of Winneshiek County.”

It also says the office is “disappointed and disagrees” with the Attorney General’s conclusion.

One attorney in the state of Iowa said the state’s stance on the post, could violate Marx’s Freedom of Speech.

“This Facebook post…If it’s a crime, that’s a really scary situation,” said Cedar Rapids Attorney Sara Riley.

And doesn’t envision a court case going far.

This seems ridiculous that they would even go this route when he’s already taken the Facebook post down so just because he won’t issue her public apology that would seem vindictive and I would think a judge would be inclined to say no we are not doing this attorney general,” Riley said.

And some of those calling Winneshiek home, are standing with their sheriff.

“He’s been great for Winneshiek county, he’s a great person and I honestly think that they are on a witch hunt,” said Cherie Larson, resident of the county.