White man who drove into Iowa protesters avoids prison

(AP) - IOWA CITY, Iowa - A white man who deliberately sped his car through a crowd of racial injustice protesters in Iowa City, striking many, will avoid prison and have the incident erased from his record if he stays out of trouble for three years.

A judge has granted a deferred judgment for 45-year-old Michael Ray Stepanek, who told police he drove his Toyota Camry through the crowd in August because protesters needed “an attitude adjustment.”

The sentence means Stepanek will have a felony charge of willful injury resulting in bodily injury dismissed and expunged if he doesn’t commit a crime during a three-year term of probation.