Some of Donald Trump supporters have showed us numerous times that they are attending his rallies fully armed, but the suspect in today’s case went further that day when he opened fire to car full of Black teenage girls following a short argument.
The incident happened on December 6 in Iowa when the suspect, identified as the 26-year-old M. McKinney, opened fire, fired several bullets at a car full of Black teenage girls and shot the 15-year-old girl.
According to police, the suspect was immediately arrested and he has been jailed ever since. He was charged with intimidation with a dangerous weapon and willful injury.
The incident happened when the rally attendees started exchanging insults with the teenagers who were in the car. The rally attendees surrounded and blocked their car not allowing them to move forward, so the driver of the car decided to forcefully drive backwards, hitting a parked pickup track.
That’s the point when the argument escalated and the suspect, an army veteran who was wearing a body armor and several firearms at the rally, opened fire at the car, shooting multiple shots and hitting one of the teenagers in the leg. Luckily, she only suffered minor injuries.
The suspect was immediately arrested and jailed. When questioned by police, he said that he decided to open fire because he felt his life was in danger and he was just protecting himself.
The man was jailed ever since the incident and he pleaded guilty on his first court hearing in June. According to the court records, in the statement read at the court early August, the girl said she believed she was going to die that day and didn’t know if she would be able to walk again. McKinney apologized to the girl and said he used poor judgment that day.
Since the incident happened after the rally and the dispute between the groups grew out of a traffic dispute, authorities downplayed the political and racial context of the shooting. The rally was sponsored by Women for America First, the pro-Trump group that later hosted the Jan. 6 rally in Washington, D.C., before the Capitol riot.
As expected, Trump supporter defended the suspect and blamed the police for arresting him claiming this is politically profiled arrest. They added that thanks to McKinney, no other Trump supporter were injured. They also noted that McKinney frequented pro-police “Back the Blue” rallies.
The judge, noting McKinney’s lack of criminal history and honorable discharge from the military, ordered two sentences to run concurrently, for a maximum of 10 years. There is no mandatory minimum to serve before McKinney becomes eligible for parole.
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