UI students seeking new venue in FIJI sex assault trial: Juror pool scared of ‘being canceled’

IOWA CITY — In pushing a judge to move out of Johnson County a trial involving a University of Iowa student’s sexual assault allegations against the FIJI fraternity and former members, defense attorneys this week pointed to the likelihood of a scared juror pool.

“Multiple residents of Johnson County recognized that defendants would be unable to obtain a fair trial in Johnson County, but were fearful of providing a declaration to that effect due to retribution from members of the public,” according to an affidavit filed by attorneys defending the UI chapter of Phi Gamma Delta — which goes by FIJI — and former members Carson Steffen and Jacob Meloan.

“Specifically, they were concerned that providing a declaration may lead to them being ‘canceled,’ experiencing personal or professional reputational harm, or even criminal conduct such as that the defendants had already experienced.”

UI student Makena Solberg — who’s identified herself via lawsuits, online posts, petitions, and media interviews — has added a third UI student to her list of accused after first suing Steffen, Meloan, FIJI and its affiliates in October 2021 for a sexual assault she said happened Sept. 4-5, 2020 in the FIJI house at 303 Ellis Ave. in Iowa City.

In her lawsuits — including the one filed more recently against a third UI student — Solberg said she was drugged and isolated in a room, where Steffen and Meloan sexually assaulted her and recorded it. She said Steffen and Meloan then disseminated photos and video of the assault among FIJI brothers via a group chat.

Solberg reported the incident to police, who didn’t initially file charges, compelling her to go public in fall 2021 — inciting widespread protests, some of which turned violent and destructive.

Fifteen months after the alleged assault and weeks after the protests and Solberg’s lawsuits, police arrested Steffen on suspicion of first-degree harassment — a case on pause pending outcome of the civil trial.

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Another lawsuit

In September 2022 — nearly a year after she filed her first lawsuit — Solberg filed another against UI student Broc Hawkins, who she said “likely disseminated the aforementioned video or photographs to members of the public” based on subsequent investigation.

It was that wider dissemination that made Solberg aware of her own assault, according to her lawsuits. Calling Hawkins’ alleged dissemination “outrageous,” Solberg accused him of “intentionally or recklessly disregarded the probability of causing emotional distress to the plaintiff.”

“Broc Hawkins willfully and wantonly disregarded the rights of plaintiff through his intentional and reckless disregard of the fact that sharing the aforementioned photos and videos, taken without plaintiff’s consent, could cause those photos and videos to be stored and shared in perpetuity and cause damage to plaintiff for the rest of her life — so long as the videos existed anywhere in the world,” according to Solberg’s lawsuit.

Hawkins in court documents denied most of the allegations against him — including that he was a FIJI member. He did admit to receiving video and photographs from Steffen and Meloan but denied sharing them.

A jury trial in Solberg’s case against Hawkins has been set for Jan. 23, 2024 — before the trial date in the Steffen and Meloan case on Nov. 5, 2024.

'Powder keg of outrage’

Though a judge hasn’t ruled on the defense appeal to move the trial outside Johnson County — a request Solberg has fought — attorneys this week continued their push for a new venue, citing a torrent of news stories that has continued for more than a year and sparked a “powder keg of outrage.”

In making their case, attorneys — in part — blamed Solberg for biasing the prospective Johnson County jury pool with her “media campaign” — including an online petition calling for the removal of FIJI that today has amassed more than 201,100 signatures.

“Whether all or just some of the negative publicity toward defendants is due to plaintiff, there can be no question that a significant amount of it is due to plaintiff’s deliberate influence,” according to the defense motion this week, pointing to examples like Solberg’s media interviews and online posts.

According to defense attorneys, Solberg — carrying a sign that read “arrest my rapist” — attended the 2021 protests with more than 2,000 people, during which rioters vandalized the defendants’ homes, stole items, broke windows, flipped cars, and flooded the basement.

In the aftermath, members of a Facebook group boasted about the damage.

“Clearly, plaintiff, through her own actions, has transformed herself into a public figure with a following that pertains directly to the allegations in this case,” according to defense documents. “The evidence of plaintiff’s effort to raise public awareness of her allegations weighs in favor of a transfer of venue.”

Solberg, according to defense attorneys, conducted her own “civil justice survey” of people on the Iowa City Pedestrian Mall, asking if they had “personal knowledge of any of the parties in the case,” had “heard of the lawsuit,” and had any “preconceived notions about the allegations from the lawsuit.”

“As would be expected, most members of the public do not personally know the parties, nor would they necessarily have specific ‘notions about the allegations from the lawsuit,’” according to the defense team. “The salient question would pertain to information and allegations arising from the facts or allegations that underlie the lawsuit.”

Those facts, according to attorneys, "are the subject of profound public disdain and bias toward defendants.“

"Defendants will struggle to obtain a fair jury that is not prejudiced against them in the current venue,“ according to defense documents. ”That is not an indictment of the jury pool, but rather a mere function of all the negative press, publicity, and efforts — many of them by plaintiff — to sway public opinion in her favor in Johnson County.“

Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.

Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com