IOWA CITY, Iowa – A white military veteran shot and wounded a 15-year-old girl when he shot his gun into a car with four black teens during a tense showdown at a rally in support of President Donald Trump near the Iowa Capitol . month.
Michael McKinney, 25, is charged with attempted murder in the December 6 shooting in Des Moines. McKinney, who was heavily armed and wearing body armor, told police he fired the shot in self-defense. McKinney, a resident of tiny St. Charles, Iowa, posted on Facebook in support of the far-right Proud Boys and against Black Lives Matter.
In a press release describing McKinney’s arrest, state police described a shooting in a parking lot in the afternoon and did not mention the Trump car rally or the race of those involved. A city police spokesman said initial reports indicated the shooting was traffic-related. Division of Criminal Investigation spokesman Mitch Mortvedt said the agency has released the immediate facts and circumstances as required.
But a review by The Associated Press found that the shooting was sparked by a belligerent political clash between a large group of white Trump supporters and four unarmed black girls aged 16 and under.
The teen driver’s mother said the girls argued with Trump supporters about politics and made racist comments. Rallygoers blamed the teens for the start of the showdown, saying they harassed and threatened the crowd.
The girls’ car was surrounded by Trump supporters shouting and honking before the driver backed up and hit a pickup truck. It is unclear whether the collision was an accident. McKinney told police he was firing at the time to protect himself.
An investigator says in court documents that McKinney does not appear to be among the rally-goers who exchanged words with the girls before the shooting. Bystander video obtained by police shows McKinney approaching the vehicle, pulling a gun from his waistband and firing it into the car from 15 feet away, according to court documents.
The bullet hit the leg of a girl who had been arguing with members of the crowd through the vehicle’s sunroof. The car rushed off to take her to a hospital.
The 73-year-old owner of the pickup, Bob Brekke Jr., told AP that he was glad McKinney fired into the car and chased the girls away, saying he was afraid they would be armed.
“I felt relieved,” said Brekke, whose truck was scratched in the collision.
Brekke said the girls shouted anti-Trump swear words against him and others as the rally progressed through the heavily Democratic city. He said their vehicle was driving wild, lurching in and out of the caravan and following it to the parking lot where the route ended.
Fans of the president, who gathered to undermine his attempts to undermine the November election, “had fun” mocking the girls, Brekke said.
Brekke, a retired airport security officer, said he asked if they were on benefits and unemployed. He said they called him a white supremacist and threatened him and his wife.
McKinney’s attorney, Kent Balducci, said the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, involving many ex-servicemen, will not help his client’s case, as the public will draw comparisons.
But he argued that the “political factors are outside” and that McKinney’s actions should be viewed as self-defense. The teen driver may have been using the vehicle as a weapon rather than just trying to flee the angry crowd, he said.
Balducci said McKinney wore body armor because he had been threatened at previous Trump rallies and feared for his safety when the car reversed.
Trump supporters have charged authorities with charges against McKinney, arguing that his shot protected the rally-goers. They included an Iowa Department of Public Safety employee who organized the event and raised money for McKinney’s defense.
McKinney, who left the Iowa National Guard in 2017 after a five-year military career, is facing 25 years in prison if convicted. McKinney is still in jail after a judge rejected his request for a $ 500,000 bail bond last month.
Danielle Gross, the teen driver’s mother, said her daughter was so traumatized by the shooting that her cousin was injured that she did not leave the house a week later. She said the girls had made an unwise decision to confront the protesters and that the situation was rapidly escalating.
“They said some racist comments and the girls argued with them and it went from there,” Gross said, adding that she has not heard from the police since the day of the shooting and that she fears for the safety of her family.
Authorities declined to comment on whether the shooting may have been motivated by race. Polk County Attorney John Sarcone noted that the charge of attempted murder against McKinney is much more jail time than a state hate crime charge, with a maximum of five years.
After the shooting, McKinney apparently tried to cover his tracks, putting the used bullet shell in the trunk of his car and not initially emerging like the shooter, court records show.
After others identified him, he admitted his role and surrendered his gun. Police say he was carrying two loaded magazines in his pants and had another firearm in his vehicle, which was equipped with Trump emblems.