Feds considering hate crime case in Richland County shooting

Federal authorities are reviewing a high profile hate crime case where a white Spring Valley man allegedly shot at a Black jogger because of his race

“We are aware of the matter. As per our protocol, we have referred the matter to federal law enforcement,” said a statement by the U.S. Attorney’s office for South Carolina in response to a query by The State newspaper.

The case was referred by Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which prosecutes federal criminal cases in South Carolina, sources told The State newspaper.

Lott confirmed that he made made the referral to the U.S. Attorney’s Office but declined further comment.

In July, Richland County sheriff’s investigators charged Jonathan Felkel, a 33-year-old white man, with violating the county’s new hate crime ordinance, a misdemeanor that carries a $500 fine and 30 days in jail. Authorities say Felkel fired his gun at a Black jogger outside the gates to Spring Valley, a 1,200-acre enclave northeast of Columbia known for its country club and high-price homes.

The Black jogger, who was not identified, was not hurt.

If federal authorities were to take up the case, they could bring charges under federal hate crime statutes, which carry up to 10 years in prison — a far stiffer penalty than the county law.

Felkel was also charged with possession of a weapon during a violent crime and assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature. He is in the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center. Bond was set at $1 million by Judge Margaret Strom Williams, a Richland County magistrate.

The case against Felkel appears strong. He has made a confession in which he admits shooting at the jogger because he was Black, and surveillance video captured a puff of smoke emerging from his vehicle when the shooting took place, Lott said at a press conference following Felkel’s arrest on July 24.

Felkel’s attorney, Aimee Smroczek, was not immediately available.

The charges against Felkel are already being handled by the 5th Judicial Circuit Solicitor’s Office, where Solicitor Byron Gipson said in an interview he was aware of the federal interest in the case.

“It took place in Richland County, and we want to make sure this man is held accountable, and I feel very confident we will be a part of bringing an appropriate resolution to this matter,” said Gipson. “We’ll be in conversation with federal authorities at the appropriate time.”

South Carolina, with its legacy of being one of the Confederacy’s largest slave-owning states, is one of two states without a state hate crimes law.

Wyoming is the other state without such a law. A federal hate crimes law is named after Matthew Shepard, a Wyoming gay man who was murdered for his sexuality in 1998.

With South Carolina’s majority-white General Assembly continually rejecting efforts to pass a state hate crimes law, some cities and towns started passing their own ordiances.

Richland County passed a hate crimes law in June. Columbia passed a similar law in 2019, and last year the town of Cayce became the first municipality in Lexington County to enact a local hate and intimidation ordinance.