Overview

• Federal prosecutors charged Ian Roberts with being an illegal alien in possession of firearms, and he made an initial appearance before a U.S. magistrate judge after being transferred from local to federal custody.
• Court filings say agents found four guns linked to Roberts, including a Glock 19 wrapped in a towel under a district vehicle’s driver’s seat and three additional firearms at his home, with ATF tracing the pistol to a 2019 purchase by a woman believed to be his wife.
• A criminal complaint describes Roberts fleeing a traffic stop, abandoning a Jeep Cherokee, and being found hiding in brush about 200 yards away; officers reported recovering $3,000 in cash and a fixed‑blade hunting knife.
• Records show Roberts entered the U.S. on a student visa in 1999, was ordered removed in May 2024, and has lacked work authorization since December 18, 2020, while his attorneys have moved to reopen his immigration case and seek a stay.
• Following his resignation and a state license revocation, Des Moines Public Schools said it will sue its superintendent search firm over vetting, as the DOJ Civil Rights Division opens a Title VII inquiry into the district’s hiring practices.