29-01-2025
Muscatine woman charged in graffiti incidents also facing hate crime, harassment charges
New details are emerging in the graffiti incidents that took place in Muscatine on January 26. According to information from 11 criminal complaints, Alisa Staats, 30, is facing charges in these incidents:
She is accused of throwing bricks at a window and a camera at Susan Clark Junior High, causing over $3,000 in damages. The school was named after the first child to integrate into a Muscatine school in the 19th century. The vehicle seen in security video was found at Staats' home and a search warrant turned up a brick in her home.
She is accused of leaving swastikas on St. Mathias Catholic Church. There is no video of Staats doing this but a search warrant revealed swastikas in her home and the graffiti was similar to other graffiti in the city.
She is accused of vandalism at Muscatine Community College, which had five swastikas and a racial slur. Video from the college shows Staats walking up to a garage with something in her hand and a search warrant turned up swastikas at her home.
She is accused of vandalizing Jibaro Restaurant, which serves Puerto Rican food, with multiple swastikas and 'we don't want you here.' There is no video at the restaurant, but the graffiti was similar to other incidents.
Staats is accused of placing swastikas and two names on a wall at Guadalajara Restaurant, which serves Mexican food. According to the criminal complaint, 'it should be noted that Staats has an active no-contact order with (the names on the wall). This will be considered a hate crime as it was racially motivated'
She also targeted the Merrill Hotel, which was hosting a large group of Chinese students in Muscatine for events, with two swastikas. One was near the hotel's outdoor sign.
She allegedly left swastikas and other graffiti at Muscatine City Hall. Staats is seen on video vandalizing the wall and spitting on a statue. The complaint says this is considered a hate crime because City Hall has no political affiliation.
She is accused of leaving multiple swastikas at an address in the city that is owned by Mayor Brad Bark. Video shows Staats in the area, vandalizing other properties. The criminal complaint for this charge says this is a hate crime because of political affiliation.
A criminal complaint says Staats left swastikas at Pearl City Tobacco & Liquor, whose owner is Saudia Arabian. This is considered a hate crime.
She is accused of leaving multiple swastikas at Pete's Tap and a sandwich shop.
Staats is also facing a harassment charge. According to that criminal complaint, she threatened the transporting officer and his family several times.
She has a preliminary hearing on the charges on February 7.
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