No. 21-1335 ___________________________

United States of America

Plaintiff - Appellee

v.

Cody Ray Leveke, also known as Cody Meyer, also known as Cody Ray Meyers

Defendant - Appellant ____________

Appeal from United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa - Central ____________

Submitted: January 14, 2022 Filed: June 21, 2022 ____________ Before SMITH, Chief Judge, WOLLMAN and ERICKSON, Circuit Judges. ____________ ERICKSON, Circuit Judge.

Following a series of trial delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a jury convicted Cody Leveke of two counts of interstate communication of a threat, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 875(c). The district court1 sentenced him to a term of 60 months in prison. Leveke appeals and we affirm. I. BACKGROUND

Leveke, a registered sex offender, spent the better part of a decade trying to be removed from the Iowa sex offender registry. In 2009, Iowa State Senator Herman Quirmbach agreed to try and help Leveke, who was then residing in Arizona. Senator Quirmbach repeatedly introduced bills to amend the law to allow out-of-state offenders the same opportunity as in-state offenders to petition for removal from the Iowa registry; however, his efforts were unsuccessful.

On September 3, 2019, Leveke sent Senator Quirmbach two emails with the subject line, “Mass Shooting of the Iowa Legislature,” and left a voicemail on the senator’s home phone. In his first email, Leveke complained about law enforcement unfairly targeting him and an invalid law being “still on the books.” He wrote, “I’m angry enough to pull a mass shooting down at the State House.” Leveke asserted the legislature was in violation of the Constitution and requested an explanation for the “illegal behavior” as well as the names of those responsible for “holding the bill up.” He told Senator Quirmbach that those responsible “should live in fear.”

About an hour later, Senator Quirmbach received an angry voicemail on his home phone from Leveke. Among other things, Leveke told Quirmbach that the senator could not violate the Constitution and get away with it. Concerned by the email and voicemail, Senator Quirmbach immediately notified law enforcement and the senate minority leader’s office. Legislative administrative staff member, Debbie Kattenhorn, then informed the entire Iowa Legislature and capitol security about Leveke’s messages.

1 The Honorable John A. Jarvey, then Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, now retired.

-2- That evening, Senator Quirmbach received a second email from Leveke under the same subject line of “Mass Shooting of the Iowa Legislature.” This time, Leveke “order[ed]” the “Iowa Legislature to stand down with any attempts to violate the civil rights of anyone” and demanded that the existing law be taken off the books. He wrote that he believed the Second Amendment exists “so we can kill politicians” for not acting in accordance with the law. Leveke further stated that “the legislature deserves a violent response at this point.” He also attached an article about a mass shooting in Texas that had been reported just hours before.

Leveke was indicted with two counts of interstate communication of a threat, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 875(c). The course of the prosecution was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Leveke’s trial, originally set for March 30, 2020, in the Central Division of the Southern District of Iowa, was cancelled on March 16, 2020, when the court issued an administ