Iowa Advocacy Group’s ‘Ag-Gag’ Law Challenge Rejected on Appeal

An animal welfare group failed to convince a federal appeals court that an Iowa law prohibiting filmed undercover investigations of agricultural facilities violates their First Amendment rights.

It’s an open question whether the First Amendment protects speech by trespassers making recordings on private property, the Eighth Circuit said.

But even assuming the First Amendment was implicated here, the challenge by Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement failed because the law was narrowly tailored to serve Iowa’s “important state interest in protecting owner’s property ...