Winneshiek County Sheriff takes down Feb. 4 Facebook post after AG Bird’s investigation
(ABC 6 News) — Winneshiek County Sheriff Dan Marx has responded to Attorney General Brenna Bird’s investigative report by taking down a Facebook post made February 4.
The post regarded how his office would be working with federal immigration agencies such as ICE.
Related: Local sheriff addresses how his office will work with federal agencies such as ICE
In that post, Sheriff Marx stated the sheriff’s office will help federal agents if their actions and paperwork are within “constitutional parameters.” If they are not though, he says his office will “make every effort to block, interfere and interrupt their actions from moving forward.”
As a result, Governor Kim Reynolds filed a complaint asking AG Bird to conduct an investigation into the county.
Bird’s investigation found that the post violated Iowa Code Chapter 27A, which prohibits state law enforcement from discouraging cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
As a result, the investigative report stated that the post needed to be removed, or the county would lose state funding with a deadline of 5 p.m. on Wednesday, March 26.
On Thursday, Sheriff Marx responded, saying he had removed the post while also issuing a response to the investigation. That response can be found below:
A complaint was filed by Governor Reynold’s Office against Sheriff Dan Marx and Winneshiek County for an alleged violation of Iowa Code Chapter 27A regarding a statement from Sheriff Marx to the “People of Winneshiek County.” The Iowa Attorney General’s Office initiated its investigation of the complaint on February 7, 2025. On February 14, 2025, the Sheriff provided the information requested by the Attorney General. On March 26, 2025, the Attorney General issued her report concerning the investigation. Here is a link to the Attorney General’s investigative report. https://www.iowaattorneygeneral.gov/media/cms/03_CD0CFA355886A.pdf
Upon the conclusion of the investigation, to prevent litigation and potential loss of state funding, the Attorney General’s Office required us to take down the original post and replace Sheriff’s Marx’s original statement with a statement the Attorney General’s Office had scripted. The language of the post proposed by the Attorney General was not acceptable to the County. To demonstrate good faith, we chose to take the post down, and for the sake of transparency to the people of Winneshiek County, we are posting, below, our February 14, 2025, response to the AG’s request for information.
Sheriff Marx’s response outlines how Winneshiek County has been in compliance with Iowa Code 27A while protecting the constitutional rights of our citizens. The response also confirms the Sheriff’s Office commitment to remain in compliance with State and Federal immigration laws while staying true to the Constitutional protections afforded the citizens of Winneshiek County.
While we are disappointed and disagree with the Attorney General’s conclusion, we remain confident that this issue can be resolved. Thank you for your continued support.
Sheriff Marx also included the sheriff’s office’s response to AG Bird’s request for information, which can be found below: