Man accused of threatening Wichita mayor over pandemic-era mask mandate is sentenced

A Wichita man accused of threatening mayor Brandon Whipple over a pandemic-era mask mandate has pleaded no contest to one misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct, court records show.

Meredith Dowty, 62, was immediately sentenced to two years of non-reporting probation after entering the plea on May 19, three days ahead of a scheduled jury trial and a defense motion to dismiss the case. Prosecutors charged him in October 2020 with three felony counts of making criminal threats that caused “terror, evacuation or disruption.”

Dowty made the threatening comments toward Whipple while text messaging then-Wichita City Council member James Clendenin in September and October 2020, including saying that the “Mayor and all those who bankrupt us” are “viable targets for elimination,” according to an arrest affidavit released by the court. He also wrote that Whipple “has a date with the hangman,” the affidavit says.

Whipple has previously said that he was told by police Dowty’s opposition to a city ordinance that required people to wear protective face coverings in public-facing businesses and workspaces spurred the messages. The ordinance had been designed to slow the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19, The Eagle previously reported.

Dowty, a retired Wichita firefighter and local musician who has performed under the stage name “Cathead,” argued his comments were protected free speech.

He’s barred from having any contact with Whipple under the terms of his probation, court records show. Sedgwick County District Judge Seth Rundle imposed the sentence.