The FBI is investigating a white South Carolina couple who allegedly burned a cross just steps from their black neighbors’ home in a shocking act of racism.
Federal agents searched the Conway home of Worden Butler and Alexis Hartnett on Wednesday morning as part of “an ongoing civil rights criminal investigation involving allegations of racial discrimination,” the agency said.
The couple was arrested late last month for allegedly erecting the cross and setting it on fire on the Grand Strand over Thanksgiving weekend, WMBF reported.
Hartnett even continued her racist tirade as police responded to the scene and was captured on body camera footage “repeatedly using a racial slur” toward her neighbors, according to a police report obtained by WPDE.
After the cross burning, Butler posted threatening notes on Facebook and leaked the victims’ address by posting a photo of their mailbox.
He also wrote that he was “summoning the devil’s army and I don’t care if they and I go down in the same boat” and “I’m about to make them pay” for the victims, the report states.
Worden Butler and his girlfriend were arrested for allegedly erecting the cross and setting it on fire on the Grand Strand. J. Reuben Long Detention Center
Butler, 28, was charged with second-degree harassment, while Hartnett, 27, was charged with second-degree harassment and third-degree assault. Both were booked and released a day after posting bail: $500 for Butler and $5,500 for Hartnett, according to online jail records.
The victims of the racist attack, Shawn and Monica Williams, said the fiery cross in front of their property was the final straw in an ongoing pattern of racist harassment by their next-door neighbors since the black couple moved in. to his retirement home in the neighborhood approximately two years ago.
“There was a cross burning about 8 feet from our fence,” Monica told WMBF. “We were speechless because we had never experienced anything like this.”
The cross was burned just steps from his black neighbors’ home in Conway, South Carolina. WBTW News 13
The couple also received racial slurs and threats of bodily harm from their neighbors, they said.
“He’s blatant with the ‘N’ word,” Monica said of Butler, who has at least five prior arrests for assault and disorderly conduct. “He chased away our surveyors. He has chased people away from the water and sewer department.”
They fear for their safety, say harassment from their neighbors is becoming more frequent and threatening, and they don’t believe arrests are enough.
Alexis Hartnett was charged with second-degree harassment, while Butler was charged with second-degree harassment and third-degree assault. J. Reuben Long Detention Center
“They left the next day,” Monica said. “So what are we going to do now? Living next to a cross-burning racist who has threatened to cause us bodily harm. “We believe there are not enough laws to address this and there needs to be some accountability.”
South Carolina is one of only two states in the country that does not have a hate crimes law.
The cross burning incident has shaken the community and revitalized the fight to get such a law passed.
The black couple said their neighbors had called them racial slurs and threatened them with bodily harm. WBTW News 13
“I dealt with this type of thing in 1950 and was very surprised to learn that this type of thing still happens in Horry County,” acting president of the NAACP Conway chapter, Dr. Kenneth Floyd, told the local station .
The NAACP has since launched its own investigation into the incident, which the Williamses captured on video.
NAACP members told WMBF that the racist attack has renewed efforts to get a hate crimes law passed in South Carolina.
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A hate crimes bill managed to pass the South Carolina State House of Representatives, but has stalled in the Senate for the past three years, according to the local station.
Even the 2015 mass shooting of nine black worshipers by a white supremacist at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston failed to get the bill passed.
“In this day and age, we don’t expect things like that to happen. It’s really scary; The Emanuel Nine should have set the precedent for a hate crimes law,” said Marvin Neal, third vice president of the South Carolina NAACP State Conference.
“We thought we were on the path in that direction when that happened, but here we are again.”
The FBI is working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and state and local partners to investigate racially motivated harassment, according to a statement.
“We have also been in communication with local community organizations to understand their concerns around this matter and to emphasize our commitment to fostering trust and accountability,” the statement said.
“As this is an ongoing investigation, no additional details can be provided, but please be assured that we are dedicated to this matter and the civil rights of all Americans.”
The Horry County Police Department also issued a statement reiterating its commitment to the case, calling Butler and Harnett’s actions “appalling and unacceptable.”
“Such hate and harassment will not be tolerated in Horry County,” said Chief Joseph Hill. “The people responsible will be held accountable for their actions and the harm they have caused to the victims and the Horry County community.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn