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by WILL FOLKS
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Federal prosecutors appeared in a Columbia, South Carolina courtroom on Tuesday morning (December 30, 2025) prepared to argue for the ongoing detention of a suspect linked to a race-based suburban shooting incident that took place this past summer.
According to a federal grand jury indictment (.pdf), 34-year old Jonathan Andrew Felkel of Columbia, S.C., who is white, violated the housing rights of his black neighbor – and used a firearm in the commission of this crime – during an incident in July.
Prosecutors allege that Felkel fired a weapon and shouted “you better keep running, boy!” at a black jogger named Jarvis McKenzie in the early morning hours of July 17, 2025. The incident – and Felkel’s comments – were captured on a surveillance camera monitoring the Flora Drive entrance to the Spring Valley neighborhood, where both Felkel and McKenzie live.
McKenzie has not been identified by federal prosecutors, but he has publicly addressed the incident in the past through his attorney.
In the surveillance video, Felkel is seen driving a black BMW sedan up to Spring Valley’s gated entrance – blaring the cowbell-infused intro to Def Leppard’s ‘Rock of Ages‘ from his car stereo as he pulls up to the gate. When the gate begins to open, Felkel can be seen reaching for a semiautomatic rifle propped up against his passenger dashboard – which he takes in hand and fires into the air outside of his window.
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“You better keep running, boy!” Felkel is heard saying on the video after firing the rifle. “You better keep fucking… (unintelligible).”
In the aftermath of the shooting, Felkel allegedly told Richland County Sheriff’s Department (RCSD) deputies that he opened fire on the victim to scare him because of his race.
“I seen a man standing in the bushes, it was a black man in a white shirt, just standing out there at 4:00 in the morning, and I saw him there and he was by himself so I was really going to do something at first,” Felkel allegedly told deputies. “I was going to shoot at him.”
Felkel has been charged at the local level with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature and possessing a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. He has also been charged with violating a newly passed county hate crime ordinance. Felkel’s bond on the two criminal charges was set at $1 million.
Unlike a lot of violent criminals who receive surety bonds, Felkel’s bond – set Richland County judge Christina Thompson – was a cash bond, meaning he must come up with the full amount in order to secure his release.
At the federal level, Felkel has been charged with depriving McKenzie of his right to occupy a dwelling without discrimination on account of his race – and of possessing a firearm in “furtherance of” a crime of violence.
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“During the course of said offense, the firearm was brandished and discharged,” the indictment noted.
While FITSNews has frequently editorialized in opposition to the enactment of state, local or federal hate crimes (believe the criminalization of thought to be a slippery slope), the federal statute against discrimination in the exercise of housing rights is one we support.
Felkel is facing up to ten years in prison on that charge – and another ten years on the housing count.
According to FBI special agent Kevin Moore, whose office investigated the case, Felkel’s crime sent “a message of fear and intimidation to an entire community.”
During Tuesday’s federal court hearing, Felkel’s attorney waived the reading of the indictment against his client – and further waived his right to a detention hearing after prosecutors asked for him to remain behind bars pending the adjudication of his charges.
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Felkel has the opportunity to revisit the issue of bond on his federal charges down the road, but with a $1 million cash bond hanging over his head at the state level – any change on that front is unlikely to impact his pre-trial detention status.
The federal case against Felkel is being led by up-and-coming prosecutor Elle E. Klein – who is also a lead attorney in the recently announced federal case against Myrtle Beach, S.C. pastor John-Paul Miller. Count on FITSNews to keep our audience apprised of any pertinent developments related to his prosecution.
More importantly, count on us to hold federal, state and local law enforcement agencies – and state and federal prosecutors and judges – accountable for their handling of violent criminals whose actions also send messages of “fear and intimidation” to entire communities.
If huge cash bonds and indefinite pre-trial detentions are the new standards for those who terrorize our communities with weapons, we are here for it... let’s just apply these new standards uniformly in a manner consistent with the threats being posed, as opposed to politically correct cosmetic applications.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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4 comments
Trump will pardon him on the federal charges.
Also, this dude looks like the result of a couple of generations of inbreeding. Therefore, the MAGA prototype.
Seriously! How is a mutant looking thing like Felkel driving a BMW and living in Spring Valley? What did he do for a living? Who hired him and how long did he work there? This almost sounds like a setup to get a “hate crimes” law passed. Enquiring minds want to know. What is the rest of the story, Fits?
I made an earlier post, mostly in jest, that Felkel might be part of a setup to get passage of so-called “hate crimes” legislation. The photos of Felkel do not look like someone with the means to be driving a BMW and living in Spring Valley. His insane actions against a man who was minding his own business, because of the man’s race, were nothing short of wrong and disgusting. There is no excuse for such behavior and anyone endangering a fellow citizen in this way deserves to be locked away for a long time.
Just now, I was doing a little bit of internet searching and found names of possible relatives and associates of Felkel. Among those names in both categories were quite a few that sounded to be names more commonly found among African American citizens. My question is, how can someone with Black friends and family seriously harbor the thoughts Felkel was said to have expressed and acted on, that morning? I am now a bit more serious about my pondering if Felkel’s situation might have been a setup for pushing a “hate crimes” law. False flag incidents at the international and national level are not unheard of. It is possible these means have trickled down to the state and local level. Oh, and Felkel’s comments did seem a bit cliche’. Admittedly, by his appearance, cliche’ is not necessarily something I would expect Felkel to be above, but still…
I recall when the victim, Mr McKenzie, held a press conference with his attorney, a while back. The main focus that his attorney seemed to have, was in passage of a “hate crimes” law. His attorney hammered hard on that issue. I seem to recall his attorney expressing that he did not want to hear anyone saying that a hate crimes law would not have changed anything. He was adamant that we needed a hate crimes law and that is that. End of discussion.
But why? When a victim of a crime has an attorney, it is usually to ensure that the victim gets fair compensation for injuries (physical, fiscal, or mental) from someone whose negligence or malice caused said injury. I heard no mention of going after Felkel (or his BMW or house), just that we must have “hate crimes” on the books. While I understand how some people, especially if they feel targeted because of race or other classification, might want a hate crime law, I see no way such would directly benefit Mr McKenzie. I cannot help but ponder why, if I were suffering psychological terror from an attack made on me, I would go to the expense and bother of procuring an attorney to push for a law that would not impact my situation after the fact, as in Mr McKenzie’s case.
As I am already too deep in this post to risk deleting it, I do not recall seeing where Felkel even lived at a Spring Valley address. Not saying he didn’t, but I do not recall seeing that.
Also, regarding Mr McKenzie; Fits says he was jogging when attacked by Felkel, as did mainstream media sources at the time. When Mr McKenzie and his attorney held a press conference, I seem to recall that it was said that Mr McKenzie was waiting on a ride to work when he was attacked. I also seem to recall that it was said that he understandably was fearful waiting outside in the dark after this attack.
So which was it? Was Mr McKenzie jogging or waiting for a ride?
There can be many legitimate explanations, but why does someone living in well-to-do Spring Valley have to wait on a ride to work, especially after a terrifying and life-threatening assault put you ill at ease while waiting?
Things that make you go hmmm…
Will, you haven’t a hair on your butt if you do not investigate this more deeply. :-)
Also, why is Felkel’s arrest/charges not showing up in the SC Court database?