UPDATE — Iowa state senator was participating in annual bike ride when he was arrested, lawyer says

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa state senator was participating, not interfering, in a statewide bike ride when he was arrested and charged with a simple misdemeanor, his attorney said.

Sen. Adrian Dickey of Packwood, Iowa, was taken into custody Monday afternoon. A $300 bond was posted the same day, and a court hearing is set for August 8, according to court filings.

Dickey said in a statement to the Des Moines Register that he was “absolutely innocent of the charge filed against me.”

Dickey’s attorney, Matt Schultz, told the newspaper that Dickey was not part of the group that was blocking the road.

“Sen. Dickey was riding in RAGBRAI earlier this week. He and his team took an alternate route that led them to a place where several hundred people were blocking a road,” Schultz said in a statement. “Sen. Dickey and his team were trying to get through the party of people and onto the bike trail, when a misunderstanding occurred between the senator and a sheriff’s deputy.”

Sac County Sgt. Jonathan Meyer said that he was working RAGBRAI, an annual bike ride across Iowa, and saw a large group of people in the middle of a road that needed to be cleared. Meyer notes that he asked Dickey to move and Dickey “advised that he was not going to move” and “to arrest him.”

Dickey was arrested and taken to Sac County Jail and charged with interference with official acts.