The South Carolina couple who allegedly harassed their Black neighbors for years may have to temporarily move out of their Horry County home, as officials label them a “public nuisance.”
In a petition filing, Fifteenth Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson requested that 27-year-old Alexia Hartnett and 28-year-old Worden Butler leave their Conway residence for about a year due to the allegations against them, The Daily Beast reported. It details an incident involving retired residents Shawn and Monica Williams.
The duo has been open about their traumatic experience, adding that they’ve been subjected to threats and racial slurs. Last Thanksgiving weekend, the couple claimed Hartnett and Butler placed a burning cross near their home.
The accused “placed a burning cross a few feet from his African American neighbor’s fence [as] neighbors were enjoying the holiday weekend with their family,” Richardson’s petition obtained by The Daily Beast noted. “The above-mentioned acts and conduct which occur on the premises are offensive to public decency, morals, peace and health and constitute a public nuisance.”
According to the report, Richardson argued that the public nuisance would continue if they remained on the property. Hartnett and Butler were arrested and hit with a second-degree harassment charge. Hartnett also faces third-degree assault. They were released on bond, leaving the Williams family frustrated.
“So, what are we to do? Live next to a cross-burning racist who’s threatened to cause us bodily harm. We feel there are not enough laws in place to deal with this,” Monica told local outlets.
It renewed calls for the state to implement a hate crime bill to protect individuals in similar situations. In December, agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation raided Hartnett and Butler’s home “related to an ongoing criminal civil rights investigation involving allegations of racial discrimination.”
Shawn and Monica also live in Charlotte and don’t know if they want to return to their retirement home near Myrtle Beach, where they endured such horrific acts, according to WCNC.
“I’m not willing to put my family, my grandchildren at risk for that,” Monica stated.
