DES MOINES, Iowa — April 10, 2026 — Governor Kim Reynolds signed Senate File 2114 into law on April 9, amending Iowa Code Section 708.6 to explicitly cover intimidation directed at individual persons — not just occupied structures or assemblies — and ensuring uniform felony penalties. The measure takes effect July 1, 2026.

The updated statute makes it a Class C felony for a person, with intent to injure or provoke fear or anger, to shoot, throw, launch, or discharge a dangerous weapon at another person or at, into, or within an occupied building, vehicle, airplane, railroad car, boat, or assembly of people, thereby placing the target in reasonable apprehension of serious injury — or to threaten such an act under circumstances where it could reasonably be carried out.

A Class D felony applies to the same acts or threats without that specific intent, but still creating reasonable apprehension of serious injury.

Key changes: The bill adds the phrase “at another person or at” to cover direct, one-on-one threats — such as pointing or firing at an individual during a confrontation — that previously fell into gray areas under the older language focused mainly on structures and crowds. It also streamlines wording around the “reasonable apprehension” requirement for consistency across all scenarios.

Penalties are unchanged: up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $1,370 to $13,660 for a Class C felony; up to 5 years and $1,025 to $10,245 for a Class D felony.

The legislation, which originated in the Senate Judiciary Committee as SSB 3018, passed both chambers without opposition. It addresses law-enforcement concerns that isolated threats — like road-rage incidents or warning shots aimed at a specific victim — sometimes required prosecutors to use less-specific charges such as assault.

The update provides clearer guidance for charging decisions without creating new crimes or altering sentencing guidelines. It is expected to have minimal fiscal impact, as analysts could not reliably estimate any increase in convictions.

With the July 1 effective date, the change gives Iowa prosecutors a more precise tool for handling targeted weapon intimidation while preserving due-process protections for defendants. The amendment fits a pattern of targeted refinements to the state’s public-safety statutes.