(Radio Iowa) – A few Johnson County officials are pressuring County Attorney Rachel Zimmermann Smith to drop charges against seven people for a protest in Iowa City. Each was initially charged with disorderly conduct for obstructing the street and for interfering with police in a protest against the appearance of a California activist who speaks against transgender surgery for minors. Supervisor Jon Green says while the interfering may set a bad precedent, it’s a matter of conscience.

“It’s not that they necessarily shouldn’t be pressing charges. It’s that if you are going to charge people, you should charge everybody or nobody. You know, there were upwards of a hundred protesters at the Cole event,” Green says. The Board of Supervisors has budgetary authority over the County Attorney’s Office. Janet Lyness was the Johnson County Attorney before retiring. She didn’t take issue with elected officials expressing their opinions to the county attorney, but she drew the line at them taking action against the county attorney for doing her job.

“The political views of the county attorney or the recorder — they can certainly be supportive of actions taken by people — it doesn’t mean they can ignore their duties and their job. They still have to uphold the law, even if they disagree with it,” Lyness says. Green has also called on the Johnson County Democrats to censure Zimmermann Smith for pursuing charges. They’ll vote on his resolution Thursday. One of the protestors has turned down a plea bargain and will challenge the arrest in court.