Illinois man charged with hate crime during Iowa protests

WATERLOO — 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.