US EditionFirst Man Charged Under Richland County Hate Crime Ordinance Pleads Guilty in Federal Court
Jonathan Felkel admitted using racial intimidation to interfere with his Black neighbor's housing rights; his plea includes an eight-to-nine-year prison term and restitution.
- U.S. District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis accepted Felkel's guilty plea this week, resolving the federal case and contemplating at least 90 days for sentencing.
- On July 17, 2025, the incident unfolded when Felkel drove into the Spring Valley subdivision, fired a semiautomatic rifle, and shouted a racial slur to intimidate his Black neighbor, Jarvis McKenzie.
- Evidence presented in court notes that prosecutors proved Felkel used force and intimidation, and he agreed to surrender a Remington Model 7400,.30-06 rifle, in roughly nine months.
- Under the plea agreement, Felkel faces 96 to 108 months of incarceration, remains detained while a presentence report is prepared, and the agreement includes restitution and a no-contact order.
- As local leaders noted, federal prosecutors handled the case due to South Carolina's lack of a statewide hate crime law, with Felkel the first charged under Richland County's ordinance, and FBI special agent Kevin Moore said 'This plea means accountability, this plea means justice for the victim'.
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South Carolina Man Pleads Guilty in Federal Hate Crime Case
COLUMBIA, South Carolina — A Richland County man has pleaded guilty to a federal hate crime after admitting he fired a gun to intimidate a Black neighbor because of his race, according to prosecutors. The case highlights ongoing gaps in state-level hate crime laws and the reliance on federal charges in such incidents. Jonathan Felkel, 34, entered the guilty plea in federal court and faces up to 10 years in prison, with a plea agreement requiring…
SC man pleads guilty to federal hate crime for shooting at a Black neighbor • SC Daily Gazette
Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott, left, and U.S. Attorney Brian Stirling, speak to reporters outside the federal courthouse in Columbia Thursday, March 19, 2026, after a white South Carolina man pleaded guilty to a federal hate crime for shooting at his Black neighbor. (Photo by Jessica Holdman/SC Daily Gazette)COLUMBIA — A white Richland County man publicly admitted Thursday shooting into the air to scare a Black man at the entrance of their s…
Man charged with Richland County's hate intimidation law pleads guilty to racially-motivated crime
Felkel shot at his neighbor in summer 2025, later admitting to police he did it because the victim is Black. Felkel has agreed to serve up to nine years in prison.
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