United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________ No. 21-2078 ___________________________ Mark Bitzan lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellant v. Jerry Bartruff, Former IDOC Director; John Baldwin, Former IDOC Director; Dorothy Faust, Former IDOC Director; Sheryl Dahm, Former IDOC Director; Jay Nelson, Former IDOC Director; Nick Ludwick, Former IDOC Director lllllllllllllllllllllDefendants Mark Roberts, ISP Deputy Warden; Rebecca Bowker, ISP Executive Officer; Mike Schierbrock, ISP A/W Treatment; Jill Johnson, ISP Administrative Assistant lllllllllllllllllllllDefendants - Appellees Debbie Ferril, Former IDOC Director lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant David DeGrange, ISP Investigator lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellee Randy VanWye, Former IDOC Director; Nikki Eaves, Former IDOC Director; Cynthia Phillips, Former IDOC Director lllllllllllllllllllllDefendants Berl Wilcox, ISP Segregation Unit Manager; Mike Eisnnicher, ISP Segregation Committee lllllllllllllllllllllDefendants - Appellees Bradley Hoenig, Former IDOC Director; Statewide Religion Review Committee; Julie Johnson, ISP Former A/W Administration; Debbie Nichols, ISP Former A/W Security; Jane Doe, ISP Mailroom lllllllllllllllllllllDefendants ____________ Appeal from United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa ____________ Submitted: April 19, 2022 Filed: April 25, 2022 [Unpublished] ____________ Before LOKEN, KELLY, and GRASZ, Circuit Judges. ____________ PER CURIAM.

Iowa inmate Mark Bitzan appeals the district court’s1 adverse judgment following a bench trial on his retaliation claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. After careful review, we affirm for the reasons stated by the district court. See Muhammad v. Mayfield, 933 F.3d 993, 1000 (8th Cir. 2019) (reviewing factual findings for clear error and legal conclusions de novo for appeal from bench trial). The judgment is affirmed. See 8th Cir. R. 47B. ______________________________

The Honorable John A. Jarvey, then Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, now retired, adopting the report and recommendation of the Honorable Helen C. Adams, Chief United States Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of Iowa. -2-