Felony Charge Filed For Phone Threat Made To Fremont-Mills School Board Member

A 52-year-old Russell, Iowa man is facing a felony charge after allegedly threatening a member of the Fremont-Mills Board Of Education.

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday that it had received a report of a threatening telephone call to a Fremont-Mills school board member on Aug. 19, the same day the board was voting on a teaching contract for Ace Rios, a transgender instrumental music instructor.

The caller threatened the school board member in an effort to get the person to vote a certain way on Rios’ hiring. During the call, the caller allegedly told the school board member to vote a certain way during the upcoming  board meeting or face consequences, including a threat of violence. The call came from a blocked or private number.

Upon investigation, deputies determined the call came from a phone associated with Eric Shawn Ballanger. He was arrested Friday without incident by deputies in Wayne County, located in south central Iowa, and transported to Fremont County.

Following Ballanger’s arrest, investigators conducted a forensic examination of his cellphone. The examination showed that a blocked/private call was placed to the school board member on the morning of Aug. 19. It also showed a second blocked/private call placed to another Fremont-Mills School Board member that morning that went unanswered. Deputies also determined that Ballanger had viewed a social media post concerning the upcoming school board vote earlier that morning.
The school board failed to approve Rios’ hiring on a 2-2 vote with one member of the board, Wes Hill, abstaining from the vote. Hill has since resigned from the school board, Fremont-Mills officials have confirmed.
According to published reports, Hill was the school board member threatened in the Aug. 19 phone call.

Fremont-Mills Superintendent Dave Gute expressed his appreciation to the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office.

“I appreciate the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office for its work in addressing the threat,” said Gute in an email to The Opinion-Tribune. “We take school safety very seriously and work closely with our School Resource Officer whenever concerns arise.”

Ballanger is charged with threat of terrorism – a Class D felony. According to Iowa District Court documents, Ballanger was released on a $5,000 surety bond and has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Sept. 8 in Fremont County District Court.

EDITOR’S NOTE - Associate Editor Joel Stevens contributed to this article.