Columbia Man Agrees to Plead Guilty to Hate Crime

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Jonathan Andrew Felkel, 34, of Columbia, has agreed to plead guilty to violating the housing rights of his black neighbor, J.M. A federal grand jury returned an indictment, presented by the U.S. Attorney's Office, in December 2025.

According to court documents, on July 17, 2025, Felkel was driving into the gated community where both he and J.M. lived when he saw J.M. standing at the gate of the community. Felkel fired a gun and shouted, "You better keep running, boy!" at J.M.

Felkel has agreed to plead guilty to a federal charge which criminalizes the use of force or threatened force to injure, intimidate, or interfere with someone's housing rights based on race. Felkel faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and a term of supervised release to follow any term of imprisonment. Felkel will enter his change of plea in federal court before United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis on a future date.

The FBI Columbia Field Office and the Richland County Sheriff's Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elle Klein and Lamar Fyall of the District of South Carolina and Trial Attorney Sarah Armstrong of the Civil Rights Division's Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.

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