OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A rally outside Omaha’s courthouse protested what participants say are government policies that protect immigrants in the U.S. illegally. Between 30 and 40 people attended the rally Friday, which was timed to coincide with a closed court hearing for 20-year-old Sergio Martinez-Perez.

Martinez-Perez is charged with first-degree murder in the July rape and beating death of 93-year-old Louise Sollowin in her home. Authorities say Martinez-Perez is a Mexican national in the country illegally.

Speakers at the rally included state Senator Charlie Janssen, a Republican candidate for governor, and Republican Iowa U.S. Representative Steve King. Both men have been vocal about their opposition to granting legal status to immigrants now here illegally.

Rally organizers are demanding that the Nebraska Legislature pass a measure “barring local sanctuary policies across the state.”

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A student has been suspended after allegedly pelting a Des Moines high school teacher with pencils, striking students with a pipe and books and yelling while standing atop a desk. Des Moines TV station KCCI reports Roosevelt High School teacher Greta Standish noticed a problem when the pencils hit her from behind. The 14-year-old boy was suspended for three days and recommended for placement in a different education program.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — A judge has sentenced the father of one of the cousins abducted in Evansdale to prison on drug charges. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports Judge David Staudt sentenced 37-year-old Daniel Morrissey of Waterloo yesterday to up to 90 years in prison with a mandatory minimum of 30 years. Morrissey is the father of Lyric Cook, who disappeared with her cousin, Elizabeth Collins, while riding bikes in Evansdale in July 2012. The girls bodies were found in a remote wooded area in December.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A 52-year-old Davenport woman has been given a year and a day in prison for defrauding a credit union between August and January of this year. Kelly Taylor pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Davenport and was sentenced on Thursday.

CLINTON, Iowa (AP) — Dozens of cats have been removed from a home in Clinton and turned over to a shelter where they are being fed, treated and will soon be put up for adoption. The Quad-City Times reports 73 cats were removed from a home earlier this week after Clinton police discovered the situation.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — A judge has sentenced the father of one of the cousins abducted in Evansdale to prison on drug charges. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports Judge David Staudt sentenced 37-year-old Daniel Eugene Morrissey, of Waterloo, on Friday to up to 90 years in prison with a mandatory minimum of 30 years.

Morrissey had earlier pleaded guilty and agreed to Alford pleas, which acknowledges evidence needed for a conviction, to charges involving the manufacture of methamphetamine and other drug offenses. The charges stem from incidents before and after the cousins disappeared.

Morrissey is the father of Lyric Cook, who disappeared with her cousin, Elizabeth Collins, while riding bikes in Evansdale in July, 2012. Their bodies were found in a remote, wooded area 25 miles away last December.