SC man pleads guilty to federal hate crime for shooting at a Black neighbor

COLUMBIA — A white Richland County man publicly admitted Thursday shooting into the air to scare a Black resident at the entrance of their subdivision because of his race.

Jonathan Felkel, 34, pleaded guilty to a federal hate crime in Columbia before U.S. District Court Judge Mary Geiger Lewis.

Felkel’s plea to the civil rights violation came eight months after his arrest. He’s been in jail ever since.

He faces up to 10 years in federal prison for the felony charge. In a plea deal, Felkel agreed to serve at least eight of those years, though the ultimate decision on sentencing lies with the judge.

The victim, Jarvis McKenzie, was in the courtroom with his family but did not wish to speak with reporters.

Both Felkel and McKenzie lived in Spring Valley, a sprawling neighborhood in northeast Columbia.

On the morning of July 17, 2025, McKenzie was waiting for his ride to work.

While he waited, Felkel, who lived with his elderly grandparents as their caretaker, pulled up to the exit gate. Federal prosecutors told the judge Felkel can be seen on neighborhood security footage grabbing a semi-automatic rifle from his passenger seat.

Felkel then fired the gun in the air and McKenzie ran away.

As McKenzie ran, prosecutors said Felkel yelled after him, “You better keep running, boy.” The derogatory racial term has historically been used by white supremacists when addressing Black people.

The two men had never met before, McKenzie’s lawyer has said.

When questioned by police, Felkel told officers he shot the gun to scare McKenzie because the man is Black and “did not need to be around here,” prosecutors said. Felkel also told police he assumed that, based on his race, McKenzie was associated with criminals.

“Just imagine that you’re going to work and get yelled at, called a derogatory term, and a gun is shot,” said Sheriff Leon Lott. “It’s disturbing that we still have people like that in our community.”

Prosecutors and Lott said Felkel’s statements to police proved his actions were racially motivated and constituted a violation of the U.S. Fair Housing Act.

Lott said the public should focus on the victim and his family, how they felt that July morning, and how they continue to feel.

“They were in court today and they got to see the person who almost took his life,” Lott said. “That pain is still there. That’s something they’ll remember the rest of their days. But today is that road to recovery for everybody.”

Felkel’s attorney declined to comment to reporters after the hearing.

Felkel will remain in jail for about three or four months while he awaits sentencing, according to the state’s U.S. Attorney Bryan Stirling.

He must serve at least 85% of his sentence before he’ll be eligible for supervised release, Stirling said.

However, that possibility will depend on the outcome of the state’s prosecution.

Felkel still faces a pair of state-level felonies and a county-level hate crime violation.

The state crimes — assault with intent to kill and a weapons charge — come with sentences of up to 20 years and 5 years, respectively.

Richland County passed a hate crimes ordinance the month before the incident, which tacks on a 30-day sentence to the original crime, if convicted.

The hate crimes were charged at the local and federal level because South Carolina is one of two states without a statewide hate crime. Wyoming is the other.

The GOP-dominated state House has twice passed legislation that would add penalties for people convicted of committing a crime due to their victim’s race, gender or sexual orientation. But those proposals never got a vote on the Senate floor, with GOP opponents saying proving hate involves prosecuting thoughts. They also contend that violent crimes should be punished severely regardless of a victim’s identity.

Lott, however, said legislators should pass a hate crime law.

“The state has a need for it. We just saw that in this case,” he said. “Luckily, we do have a U.S. attorney’s office who will prosecute.”