Jonathan Andrew Felkel, a 34-year-old resident of Columbia, South Carolina, has agreed to plead guilty to a federal hate crime 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 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 a federal charge that prohibits using force or threats of force to injure, intimidate, or interfere with someone’s housing rights based on race. He faces up to 10 years in prison, a fine as high as $250,000, and supervised release following any imprisonment. The change of plea hearing will take place before United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis at a later date.
The FBI Columbia Field Office and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department led the investigation. The prosecution team includes 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.
