Another Iowan is accused of resorting to violence to voice his displeasure at abortion rights protests.
Ronald Lee Paradine was arrested and charged on Friday for allegedly assaulting a pro-choice protestor during an event at Triangle Park in McGregor, a northeast Iowa community just across the Mississippi River from Wisconsin.
During a permitted protest, abortion rights advocates were holding an event at Triangle Park when Paradine, a 62-year-old McGregor resident, “began voicing his displeasure at the demonstrators,” according to the Mar-Mac Police Department.
Unprovoked and after some more yelling, Paradine then walked across the street and punched a male protester in the face multiple times because “he was very upset with the protesting going on in Triangle Park which he was against,” according to the criminal complaint.
Another witness captured the assault on video, according to the criminal complaint. Starting Line was unable to find any public postings of the footage.
This incident happened almost exactly one month after a man driving a truck struck abortion rights advocates walking in a crosswalk as they were leaving a protest in Cedar Rapids. No charges have been filed in the incident and, relatedly, a 2021 Iowa law protects motorists who strike protestors from civil liability if the driver demonstrates “due care.”
According to court documents, Paradine is employed as a truck driver and has an annual salary of $90,000. However, he applied for a court-appointed attorney. His application was denied because his income “exceeds guidelines” for the appointment of counsel.
Paradine posted a $500 bond on Saturday, July 23. He has an initial appearance slated for Monday, Aug. 1, at the Clayton County Courthouse in Elkader.
A Facebook account for a Ron Paradine of McGregor shares a lot of right-wing memes complaining about Democrats, electric vehicles, gender identity, the media, teachers, the youth, and other political hot-button issues.
Interestingly, a meme the account shared in June opposes using violence as a resolution to problems. The meme reads: “If you have to hurt other people to feel powerful, you are an extremely weak individual.”
by Ty Rushing
07/27/22
To contact Senior Editor Ty Rushing for tips or story ideas, email him at ty@iowastartingline.com or find him on Twitter @Rushthewriter
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