A hung jury led to a mistrial this Monday in the case against Aisha Nyala, a former student at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI), who was accused of making threats against the university’s Dean of Students Allyson Rafanello. The trial, which commenced last Wednesday, deliberated over charges that included intimidation with a deadly weapon among other serious allegations.
Nyala faced multiple charges, notably intimidation with a deadly weapon and stalking using technological devices, both classified as Class C felonies. Authorities say Nyala operated several social media accounts to launch a harassment campaign against Rafanello and other UNI administrators starting in 2021. This included threatening posts and supposed direct threats of violence.
Allegations against Nyala include the use of the @UNIYogaClub on X (formerly known as Twitter) to criticize UNI’s response to sexual assault complaints, which increasingly targeted specific administrators. Some messages posted were explicit threats, including one that ominously promised revenge. Additionally, Nyala is accused of making a phone call to the Board of Regents office threatening violence, though the specifics of the threat did not name Nyala or Rafanello directly.
Another aspect of the harassment included a Facebook profile named “Allyson Rafanello is racist,” which posted photographs of Rafanello’s family along with threats of shooting Rafanello and her children. These allegations painted a terrifying picture of the extent of the harassment faced by Rafanello, who testified in the trial that she felt safer on the university campus than in her own home because of these threats.
An attempt to avoid a mistrial was made when Judge Dalrymple issued an Allen charge on Thursday, a rare move meant to encourage a deadlocked jury to reach a consensus. Despite these efforts, after further deliberation on Friday, the jury remained undecided on the intimidation charge against Nyala, leading to the mistrial declaration.
Nyala’s legal troubles are not over as there are pending trials for multiple counts of harassment and stalking. A subsequent trial concerning these charges is slated to be scheduled 90 days from the mistrial under a waiver of speedy trial invoked by the defense.
The community will be watching closely as the next trial dates approach, and further proceedings will likely continue to gain attention given the serious nature of the charges and the high-profile nature of the alleged harassment.
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