An Ogle County judge will hear arguments in March for motions filed by a Chicago woman’s attorneys seeking to dismiss charges of falsely reporting a shooting near Rochelle in May 2025.

Jodie Wiederkehr, 56, the campaign director of Showing Animals Respect and Kindness, is charged with two counts of falsely reporting an offense, a Class 4 felony, and one count of harassment by telephone, a misdemeanor. She pleaded not guilty to the charges in August 2025.

SHARK has been advocating for the closure of a rodeo held at Rancho La Esperanza, on Ritchie Road south of Rochelle, that has hosted steer-tailing events.

[ Northern Illinois counties struggle to regulate Mexican-style rodeos, steer-tailing events in their area ]

The rodeo has continued to operate under a permanent special-use permit issued by the county, records show. The most recent event was held Oct. 18, 2025.

The charges against Wiederkehr stem from May 25, 2025, when prosecutors allege she repeatedly called 911 and told an Ogle County dispatcher that she saw someone get shot at 16989 Ritchie Road, the location of the rodeo, when she knew what she was telling them was not true, Ogle County State’s Attorney Mike Rock said in a previous interview with Shaw Local.

Wiederkehr’s attorneys have argued that the context is important, and the intent of those calls was to report animal cruelty.

On Wednesday, Wiederkehr appeared before Ogle County Associate Judge Anthony Peska for a status hearing.

Assistant State’s Attorney Matthew Leisten asked for more time to respond to motions filed Jan. 20 by Wiederkehr’s attorneys, Brad Thomson of Chicago and Chris Carraway of Colorado. He said the state needed 45 days to respond.

Those three motions ask the court to dismiss all charges, arguing that they violate Wiederkehr’s right to free speech and are a result of vindictive prosecution.

Wiederkehr’s attorneys also filed a motion in October 2025 requesting an extensive list of discovery items from the state, including all documents, reports and dispatch calls from May 1 to June 17 concerning the rodeo, among several other items. At a hearing Dec. 3, 2025, Leiston said he planned to file a written objection to that motion.

Peska said all arguments will be heard at Wiederkehr’s next court appearance at 1:30 p.m. March 24.

“I will block off the entire afternoon,” said Peska, striking February dates for Wiederkehr’s final pretrial hearing and trial.