FBI at residence of couple who burned cross in front of Black neighbors’ Conway home
FBI agents on Wednesday were at the home of a Conway couple who are accused of using racial slurs against their Black neighbors and burning a cross near their neighbors’ home.
Agents were at the residence of Alexis Paige Hartnett and Worden Evander Butler, who live in the 1400 block of Corbett Drive in Conway, concerning an ongoing criminal rights investigation involving allegations of racial discrimination, according to a press release.
Hartnett and Butler have been charged with harassment. Hartnett also faces a charge of assault.
Butler, 28, and Hartnett, 27, are accused of harassing and stalking their next-door neighbors with “racially-motivated words and actions” between Nov. 23 and 24 on Corbett Drive, according to a Horry County Police report.
“We are working jointly with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, as well as our local and state partners, to thoroughly examine this matter, and we’re dedicated to ensuring equality and fairness within our communities,” according to the FBI release.
Horry County Police Chief Joseph Hill said in a statement Dec. 14 that, “The actions of the perpetrators of the incident over Thanksgiving weekend are appalling and unacceptable. Such hate and harassment will not be tolerated in Horry County.
“The individuals responsible will be held accountable for their actions and the hurt they have caused the victims and the greater Horry County community.”
The racial slurs used by the couple were about the victim being Black, the police report said. In another incident, the suspects erected a cross that could be seen over the neighbor’s privacy fence and was facing the victim’s home, the report said. The suspects then set the cross on fire.
Horry County Police and Fire Rescue responded to the incident.
While police were interviewing the victims and Butler, body camera video shows Hartnett repeatedly using a racial slur toward the victim’s family, the report said.
The victims feel that the suspects are a danger to their safety and the incidents are getting more frequent and threatening, according to the report.
It appears that the home is a second home for the victims, the report said.
South Carolina is currently one of two states that do not have a hate crimes law. Wyoming is the other.
Both Hartnett and Butler were released from J. Reuben Long Detention Center on bail.
