- Jonathan Andrew Felkel, 34, was sentenced July 16 to nine years in federal prison after pleading guilty to violating the housing rights of his Black neighbor, identified in court documents as J.M., during a racially motivated shooting outside their Columbia-area neighborhood on July 17, 2025.
- According to the Justice Department, Felkel admitted he fired a gun while driving into the community and shouted, “You better keep running, boy!” at the victim. During the investigation, he told law enforcement he believed Black people were committing crimes in his neighborhood, assumed J.M. was a criminal because of his race, and intended to send the message that the victim should “leave” and “not be around this area.”
- The FBI Columbia Field Office and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department investigated the case. The federal prosecution was brought under the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits violence or intimidation based on race in connection with housing rights.