Orange City, Iowa — A motion for dismissal filed by an Ocheyedan man who is accused of burning books belonging to the Orange City Public Library has been denied.
Paul Dorr of Ocheyedan, the leader of the group, “Rescue The Perishing,” says he borrowed what he calls the “shameful and wicked” books from the Orange City Public Library. The books involved were four “transgender books” that Dorr is accused of burning in a Facebook Live video at the start of the October “OC Pride” event.
After the due date of the books passed without them being returned to the library, police filed charges against Dorr for Fifth Degree Criminal Mischief, a simple misdemeanor, for allegedly burning the books. Dorr says a third party paid the library for the books in December.
In his motion for dismissal, Dorr does not deny that he burned the books, but only talks about his religious beliefs to explain his actions. He also said that he was being singled out for prosecution and was treated differently from others who fail to return books to the library.
In her order, Judge Lisa Mazurek says Dorr was not acting similarly to other patrons who fail to return books. She says he intentionally destroyed the books.
Judge Mazurek wrote, “Mr. Dorr isn’t being sent the message that he cannot burn books when he disagrees with the contents of those books. He is being sent the message that he cannot burn books that do not belong to him.”
Dorr’s jury trial in the case is currently scheduled for 9:00 a.m. on August 6th in Orange City. This is the most recent trial date, with the date having been pushed back on multiple occasions.
