A Black resident who was walking through a closed community in South Carolina was confronted by a white resident who accused him of harassing the neighbors, telling him he didn’t belong there.
The white resident turned out to be an Army drill sergeant Jonathan Pentland, who not only bullied the Black resident, identified only as Deandre, but also shoved him. Pentland, 42, has been charged with third-degree assault.
The incident took place at the Lakes at Barony Place, a gated community in the Summit neighborhood of Richland County.
Pentland was charged Wednesday, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s office. A video posted on Facebook by another resident named Shirell Johnson of his attack on Deandre and quickly went viral.
In the three-minute clip, Pentland is seen repeatedly screaming at Deandre to “go away now” before pushing him. He also yells, “You came to the wrong neighborhood motherf****r.”
Pentland’s wife, Cassie, can also be heard shouting at Deandre.
Activist Tariq Nasheed, founder of the Foundational Black American orgnaization, tweeted, “A suspected white supremacist named Jonathan Pentland of Columbia SC, harassed & assaulted a young Black male for simply walking in the neighborhood. The Black male named Deandre actually lives in the area. The anti-Black race war is in full swing. Pentland is a military sergeant”.
Pentland has been a drill sergeant at Fort Jackson since at least 2019, DailyMail reported.
Fort Jackson commanding general, Brig. Gen. Milford Beagle, Jr. announced on Twitter that the video would be investigated.
There were calls on social media for Pentland to be demoted, such as this tweet: “Need to bump his ass back down to a Private and have him clean toilets with a toothbrush.”
After the video went viral, several Black people held a protest in the neighborhood.
“Looks like the black community immediately has responded and pulled up to his house and he’s hiding like a b—-itch now!” one person tweeted about the protesters.
Another wrote, “S/O to those who pulled up. And to those who have an issue just remember: Our inherited Anger and genetic Trauma is the direct effect of the centuries long – to present day mistreatment by racists and their enablers. Your comfort levels are absolutely none of our concern.”
Pentland faces 30 days in jail and a $500 fine if found guilty. He was detained in the Richland County jail and issued a personal recognizance bond, according to online jail records.
Pentland was also given a citation for malicious injury to property for slapping the man’s phone out of his hand and cracking it.
The Army is cooperating with the police and federal investigations, said Brig. Gen. Beagle, according to NBC News.
“The leaders at Fort Jackson in no way condone the behavior depicted in the video posted recently,” Beagle said. “This action deeply impacts our community — the neighbors in the Summit, the city of Columbia, Richland & Lexington counties, and our Army family.”
Beagle added, “This is by no means condoned by any service member. We will get to the bottom of this ASAP.”
“Fort Jackson officials are aware of the video and it has our full attention,” Beagle said in an email statement to Military Times, The Army Times reported. “This type of behavior is not consistent with our Army Values and will not be condoned. We have begun our own investigation and are working with the local authorities”
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