Iowa City Man Cited for Grabbing and Smashing Woman's 'Horrific' Anti-Abortion Sign

An Iowa City man is facing a serious midemeanor after a woman's anti-abortion sign allegedly spurred his reaction.

Police were called yesterday morning to the intersection of Riverside Drive and Highway 6 for the report of a disturbance on the corner. When the officer arrived, a woman told him that she was holding a political sign at the corner when she was approached by a man -- William Carl Kapp, 26, of Iowa City -- who grabbed her sign from her hands and smashed it, according to the criminal complaint.

Police say Kapp admitted to smashing the sign because he was "overwhelmingly offended that children passing by would be subjected to the image" which he described as "horrific" and "obscene."

A message to Iowa City Police information officef, Sgt. Denise Brotherton, returned a response that she is out of the office, but earlier she told the Press-Citizen that she believed the sign had an anti-abortion related message on it.

Lydia Martens, an Iowa City parent, had this to say on the Iowa City Patch Facebook page:

"I can completely understand his reaction. I have to avoid that whole intersection EVERY Wednesday, because I don't want my living son to be traumatized by pictures of dead unborn babies. These people aren't even willing to turn the signs around when parents politely ask when they have the misfortune of getting stuck at the red light. It's been an unfortunate situation in the making for a long time."

The sign sustained damage that was in excess of $200 according to the criminal complaint. Kapp was charged with fourth-degree criminal mischief for the offense, a serious misdemeanor.

Kapp could not be reached for comment before the publishing of this article.