DES MOINES, IOWA (April 21, 2025) — On Friday, April 18, Governor Kim Reynolds signed into law Attorney General Brenna Bird’s legislative priority that increases penalties for assaults against law enforcement and first responders.
“Law enforcement are heroes who deserve our respect and appreciation,” said AG Bird. “Each day that these brave men and women put on their badge, they take a risk to keep us safe. Now, it’s our turn to return the favor and protect them from the violent, targeted attacks that we’ve seen rise across the country. I want to thank Gov Reynolds for signing my proposal to heighten penalties for assaults on law enforcement and first-responders, as well as the Iowa legislature for passing it. In Iowa, we back the blue.”
In 2023, assaults on law enforcement reached a national ten-year high. This new law will protect law enforcement, first-responders, and corrections officers by raising penalties for assaults to up to:
- Ten years in prison when the assault involves a dangerous weapon or is meant to inflict serious injury;
- Five years when the assault causes bodily injury; and
- A mandatory minimum sentence of seven days in jail for all other assaults against first-responders.
The law also adds spitting on law enforcement, first-responders, or corrections officers as a punishable assault.
Read the bill here.
