WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) - An Illinois man accused of writing “KKK” on a black woman’s car during protests in Iowa has been charged with a hate crime.
Gary Eugene Shelton, 54, was arrested Wednesday in Bloomington, Illinois, in connection with the incident earlier this month in Waterloo, Iowa, The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reported.
He remains jailed facing extradition to Iowa to face charges of second-degree criminal mischief under the state’s hate crime statutes. Bond was set at $75,000.
The victim reported someone wrote KKK with a waxy substance on her car, causing damage estimated at more than $1,500. The incident happened sometime late June 4 or early June 5 at a hotel in Waterloo.
Police said Shelton was traveling through Waterloo for work at the time, and investigators used video and other evidence to link him to the damage.
The incident came during nightly protests and marches in Waterloo over the slaying of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minn.
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