Trump supporter jailed after shooting car of Black girls after Iowa rally

Girls were reportedly calling Trump supporters white supremacists, while Trump supporters asked if they were on welfare

A Trump supporter has been sentenced to up to 10 years in prison for shooting into a car full of Black teenage girls after attending a rally for then-President Donald Trump.

The Associated Press reports that Michael McKinney, 26, pleaded guilty in June to intimidation with a dangerous weapon and willful injury resulting from his actions. The shooting took place on 6 December near Des Moines, Iowa, and injured one of the girls in the car.

Police said the girls and the rally-goers were yelling insults at each other. A witness to the events told The Des Moines Register that the girls were accusing the rally-goers of being white supremacists, and the rally-goers were asking them if they were on welfare. At one point the girls' car was surrounded by Trump supporters. The girls attempted to back up, but hit a pickup truck.

Once the car hit the truck, McKinney, who is a veteran of the US Army and who had been wearing body armor and carrying several guns on him at the time, shot into the car. He hit a 15-year-old girl in the leg. The girl was standing up outside of the car's sunroof when she was wounded.

Polk County prosecutor Olu Salami said on Friday that the girl's position during the shooting may have saved her life.

“Had she been seated, rather than standing, she could have been 16 and forever remained 16, had she been struck,” he said.

The body armor clad war veteran told police that he felt threatened by the teenage girls in the car, so he shot at them.

According to The Des Moines Register, the girl who was hit said she believed she was going to die that day and feared that her wounds would leave her unable to walk.

McKinney has since apologised to the girl, attributing his reactions to poor judgement.

Police did not assert racial motives to the shooter. Law enforcement claims the incident grew out of a traffic argument.

The rally's sponsor was the Women for America First, a pro-Trump group that would later go on to host the 6 January rally in Washington DC that preceded the Capitol riot. On the night of the shooting, the rally was held to further Mr Trump's fraudulent claims that the 2020 election had been stolen. MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell was among the speakers.

Trump supporters were upset after McKinney was charged. They argued that the veteran shooting his gun into a car full of teenage girls protected other rally attendees. They pointed out that McKinney frequently attended “Back the Blue” rallies to support police officers.

Mr McKinney will serve two 10 year terms concurrently while in prison. The judge gave McKinney the break because he had no criminal history and was honorably discharged from the military.