A former UNI student accused of harassing UNI Dean of Students Allyson Rafanello’s first trial ended in a hung jury this Monday afternoon. After deliberating for both Thursday and Friday, the twelve jurors still could not come to an agreement on a verdict, and a mistrial was declared in the case on Friday.
Aisha Nyala, a former UNI student, was charged with intimidation with a deadly weapon, stalking through use of a technological device, and harassment in the first degree. Both intimidation with a deadly weapon and stalking through use of a technological device are Class C felonies.
Nyala is believed to have been the user of multiple social media accounts, including @UNIYogaClub and alternate Facebook profiles to harass and intimidate Rafanello and other UNI administrators. Beginning in 2021, the UNI Yoga Club X (formerly known as Twitter) account began posting messages regarding UNI’s handling of sexual assault complaints from students. As time went on, the posts became targeted towards administrators, with later posts from Facebook accounts stating “I promise I will get revenge on you if it’s the last thing I do.” Nyala is also accused of calling the Board of Regents office and threatening to “shoot her in the head,” although neither Nyala nor Rafanello were explicitly named in the call to the Board of Regents office.
One of the alternate Facebook profiles, “Allyson Rafanello is racist” posted photos of the Rafanello family, including the Rafanello children. The Facebook profile threatened the Rafanello family by saying they would shoot Rafanello and her children.
This past week marked the beginning of one of Nyala’s three trials with regards to intimidation, harassment and stalking. The trial that began on Wednesday, Jan. 22 weighed Nyala’s intimidation with a deadly weapon charge. Rafanello took the stand as a witness the day the trial began, claiming that she felt safer on campus than she did her own home following the multiple threats on her and her children’s lives. On Thursday, the jury was granted an Allen charge by Judge Dalrymple in an attempt to prevent a hung jury and mistrial. An Allen charge is granted to a jury by a judge in the event that the jury comes to a stark disagreement, and can’t seem to align or come to a conclusion. Minority jurors are asked to reconsider their opinion, and evaluate the evidence proposed. According to Dalrymple, the Allen charge is not commonly used in jury trials.
After spending Thursday and Friday morning deliberating, the jury couldn’t come to a conclusion regarding whether or not Nyala had used intimidation with a deadly weapon towards Rafanello, and a mistrial was called. Due to a waiver of speedy trial, a new trial for Nyala’s case will be set 90 days from now. Nyala will also go to trial for multiple counts of harassment and stalking at a later date. The Northern Iowan will continue to update the story as the trial progresses.
