DES MOINES, Iowa — A 24-year-old man has been arrested and charged in Greene County for allegedly violating the governor's orders regarding social gatherings.
Riley Rittgers of Paton was arrested and charged Wednesday.
He's accused of violating Iowa's social host law and violating Gov. Kim Reynolds' executive order regarding gatherings of larger than 10 people that she enacted as a result of the spread of COVID-19.
Greene County attorney Thomas Laehn told Local 5 on Thursday that the arrest had been made and that Rittgers was facing the two simple misdemeanors charges.
Local 5 previously reported that Rittgers was allegedly involved in a large drinking party that was broken up by police on April 3 in Paton. Many of the individuals were allegedly drinking underage, while some were of age. 40 people were cited by police, while seven teenagers were arrested and charged with possession of alcohol underage.
Laehn told Local 5 that calls have been coming in over the last few weeks regarding people failing to follow the governor's orders and practice social distancing. He said a group of 12 kids was playing basketball and the local police officers broke up the group, telling them to go home. No one besides Rittgers has been charged in violation of the order in the county.
At the time of the party on April 3, the governor's administration had not provided information or language to local law enforcement regarding her executive order about large gatherings.
"Normally when an officer wants to charge someone, they look up the code," said Laehn. "Officers have been handicapped, yes, because there's no charging language. At the time, there wasn't a template for COVID."
The language was eventually provided to law enforcement in regards to enforcing the governor's proclamation regarding social distancing and social gatherings of no more than 10 people.
