Woman Sentenced to Over Five Years in Federal Prison for Committing Assault on Meskwaki Settlement

A woman who stabbed another woman in the neck with a piece of trim that broke off in the victim's neck was sentenced April 14, 2026, to more than five years in federal prison.

Ashley Thompson, age 38, from Tama, Iowa, received the prison term after a March 31, 2025, guilty plea to one count of assault causing serious bodily injury.

At the guilty plea, Thompson admitted that on January 14, 2024, she assaulted a woman on the Meskwaki Settlement near Tama, Iowa. Thompson was in another person's home along with the victim. An argument between multiple people occurred. Thompson picked up a loose piece of wooden wall trim. She thrusted the piece of trim at the victim. The wood hit the victim in the neck. A piece of the wood broke off in the victim's neck.

Law enforcement officers responded to the scene. The victim was having difficulty breathing and appeared to be losing consciousness. The victim was transported to Marshalltown and then to Des Moines for surgery. The piece of wood was against the victim's jugular vein but had not pierced it.

Thompson has a lengthy criminal history. She has four previous assault convictions in state court. While detained in the Polk County jail in February 2024 following her arrest, she assaulted another inmate by throwing a cup of hot water at her. She also has multiple convictions for child endangerment, operating a vehicle while intoxicated, disorderly conduct, and theft.

Thompson was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Thompson was sentenced to 63 months' imprisonment. She must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

Thompson is being held in the United States Marshal's custody until she can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Morfitt and investigated by Meskwaki Nation Police Department.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.plLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link..

The case file number is 24-cr-00069.

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