(Radio Iowa) – A University of Iowa law professor says the acquittal of a protester on charges related to blocking to traffic in Iowa City last October won’t have much impact on Iowa’s protest law. That 2021 law increased penalties for protest related charges, but professor Allison Guernsey (GERN-see) says the jury’s finding doesn’t challenge that law.

She says the ruling applies narrowly to this case.

Guernsey added that the ruling could inform how law enforcement and prosecutors approach pressing charges in future demonstrations.