Jonathan Andrew Felkel, a 34-year-old resident of Columbia, South Carolina, has agreed to plead guilty to a federal hate crime charge for violating the housing rights of his Black neighbor, identified as J.M. The indictment was returned by a federal grand jury in December 2025 and presented by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Court documents state that on July 17, 2025, Felkel encountered J.M. at the entrance gate of their shared gated community. During this encounter, Felkel fired a gun and shouted, “You better keep running, boy!” at J.M.
Felkel is set to plead guilty to using or threatening force with the intent to injure, intimidate, or interfere with someone’s housing rights because of race. The maximum sentence for this offense includes up to 10 years in prison, a fine reaching $250,000, and supervised release following any imprisonment. The plea hearing will be held before United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis on a date yet to be determined.
The case was investigated by the FBI Columbia Field Office along with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department. Prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elle Klein and Lamar Fyall from the District of South Carolina and Trial Attorney Sarah Armstrong from the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section.
