Matthew J. Perry Jr. U.S. Courthouse in Columbia, where Jonathan Felkel pleaded not guilty Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, to federal hate crime charges. (File photo by Abraham Kenmore/SC Daily Gazette)
COLUMBIA — A white Richland County man accused of using derogatory language before shooting at his Black neighbor pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a federal hate crime.
Jonathan Felkel, 34, entered his plea on the federal civil rights and firearm violations before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paige Gossett. He waived his right, for the time being, to a federal bond hearing as he remains behind bars on state-level charges filed five months ago.
Felkel’s attorney did not respond on his behalf to messages from the SC Daily Gazette.
On the morning of July 17, Jarvis McKenzie was waiting at the entrance of his northeast Columbia neighborhood for his ride to work, according to his attorney Tyler Bailey.
While McKenzie waited, Felkel, also a resident of the Spring Valley subdivision, pulled up to the exit gate, according to a police report from the Richland County Sheriff’s Department. Police say Felkel can be seen on neighborhood security footage grabbing a rifle from his passenger seat.
Felkel then allegedly fired the gun at McKenzie, who Bailey said ran away.
Felkel and McKenzie had never previously met, Bailey said. The subdivision spans 1,200 acres, according to the homeowners’ association website.
As McKenzie ran, Felkel allegedly yelled after him, “You better keep running, boy,” making his actions a hate crime, according to prosecutors. McKenzie was not injured.
In a 2006 case, Ash v. Tyson Foods, Inc., the U.S. Supreme Court found the term “boy” can be evidence of racial discrimination when directed toward a Black man. The derogatory racial term has historically been used by white supremacists when addressing Black people.
Law enforcement did not name McKenzie, but he first identified himself at a news conference in August.
Federal prosecutors are arguing Felkel’s actions were racially motivated and constitute a violation of the U.S. Fair Housing Act.
Federal courts have previously ruled neighbor-on-neighbor harassment violates a person’s housing rights.
For example, in a 2020 case in Idaho, a man pleaded guilty to criminal interference with housing rights and a weapons charge after threatening his Black neighbor by burning a cross, blasting racially charged music toward the neighbor’s home and placing Nazi symbolism and threatening racial slurs on his fence.
In addition to the federal charges, which if convicted each carry a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison, Felkel faces a pair of state-level felonies and a county-level hate crime violation.
AG’s opinion says only SC legislators can create a hate crime. But 2 dozen local laws still stand.
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 Felkel faces 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.
Proponents of a state law (in both parties) have said they will try again in 2026.
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.
Felkel has remained in the Richland County jail unable to post the $1 million bond set by a county magistrate in July for the state charges.
Bailey said his client fears for his safety and that of his family. He wants Felkel kept in jail until the case is resolved.
