A post on social media sparked outrage and concern from conservatives regarding an event at First Christian Church in Perry.
According to the social media post, a friend went to Perry and there was a “rally for illegal immigrants to get a photo ID at the First Christian Church.”
“Once they got one, they then went to another table with mail-in voting packets and each person was told to vote,” the social media post said. “Since many couldn’t read English, the woman helped them by telling them which place to mark, and they told everyone there to vote for Harris. This is totally ILLEGAL!”
The social media post then said there was a similar rally done in Ames with plans to do another event in Ames and one more in Marshalltown.
The social media post claimed the friend speaks Spanish and talked with an illegal immigrant who bragged that he used one name for work, another to claim no income and qualify for government benefits.
The social media post claimed a member of the Perry Police Department announced that if the individuals are ever pulled over, they could show this ID and they would be allowed to drive on with no charges. The supposed representative of the Perry PD said Perry was a “sanctuary city.”
In response, Perry Police Chief Eric Vaughn said that Central Iowa Community ID held an event at the First Christian Church on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 1 p.m. The purpose of the event, he said, was to provide a non-government form of identification to “persons.”
“The ID card that was issued is not a license to drive or to vote,” he said. “IDs similar to the ones being issued would be used at places such as banks and libraries or during other noncriminal contacts.”
Vaughn said the Perry Police Department was not at the event and nobody from the department made any statements. He also said Perry is not a sanctuary city, not is any other city in Iowa to his knowledge.
“Our department complies with all state codes regarding cooperation with the federal agencies charged with enforcing federal immigration laws,” Vaughn wrote. “Our department will continue our work to serve all of the persons living and visiting our community both fairly and ethically. We are proud of our community. Its cultural and ethnic diversity is a large part of what makes Perry great.”
According to the Facebook page of Central Iowa Community ID, the group did indeed hold an event at the church in Perry on Saturday. According to a flyer promoting the event, the ID card is “not a license to drive or vote or permission to board a plane.”
The Iowa Standard is attempting to find the original source of the social media post.
