Bakari Sellers’ Instagram hit with racial slurs, and stalker is arrested, SC cops say
A North Carolina man was in a Richland County jail after sending numerous intimidating messages to Bakari Sellers, both the attorney and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division said Monday.
Grant Edward Olson Jr., was charged with stalking and assault or intimidation due to political opinions or exercise of civil rights, SLED said in a news release.
Arrest warrants show the 48-year-old Asheville resident used Instagram to send about 65 messages to Sellers, a civil rights attorney, CNN analyst, and registered lobbyist.
The messages were sent from Feb. 25 through March 24 and contained racial slurs, the killing of Black people, and information that Olson was armed, according to the arrest warrants.
The messages were meant to intimidate Sellers because of his political commentary, an arrest warrant shows.
Olson admitted to sending the messages that caused Sellers to fear death, assault, or bodily injury for himself and his family, according to an arrest warrant.
“This isn’t just about me. I have a wife, a teenage bonus daughter and twin 3-year-olds and I take any threat against them very seriously,” Sellers said in a news release. “They shouldn’t be subject to threats and intimidation like this. No one should. This isn’t political debate. This isn’t the ‘new normal.’ It’s a crime, pure and simple.”
Olson was arrested April 8, according to Sellers. Olson was booked at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center and his case will be prosecuted by the 5th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, according to SLED.
If convicted on the felony stalking charge, Olson faces a maximum punishment of five years in prison and a $5,000 fine, according to South Carolina law. A conviction on the misdemeanor intimidation charge carries a maximum sentence of two years behind bars and a $1,000 fine.
“I want to thank SLED Chief Mark Keel, Behavioral Science Director Mike Prodan and all the officers at SLED for their quick and decisive action in protecting me and my family,” Sellers said. “They have not only demonstrated the highest standards of commitment and professionalism, but they proved once again how critical it is that we support and fund this important work.”
Sellers burst on to the political scene in 2006 when he was elected as a South Carolina state representative at age 22.
In 2014, Sellers gave up his seat for an unsuccessful run at lieutenant governor, losing to current South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster.
From 2007-08, Sellers served on the Obama for America state steering committee. Sellers has also worked for U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn and former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin.
Sellers is a graduate of Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School, Morehouse College and the University of South Carolina School of Law. He’s the son of civil rights activists Cleveland Sellers and Gwendolyn Williamson-Sellers.
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This story was originally published April 12, 2022 at 8:15 AM.
