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Soldier in South Carolina charged after video of confrontation with Black man

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Posted at 3:30 PM, Apr 15, 2021
and last updated 2021-04-15 18:30:58-04

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A white Army non-commissioned officer depicted in a viral video accosting and shoving a Black man in a South Carolina neighborhood has been charged with third-degree assault.

Online court records show Jonathan Pentland was charged Wednesday.

He was listed as detained in the Richland County jail and records didn't show him as having an attorney.

The video posted Monday by a woman on Facebook and shared thousands of times shows a man identified as Pentland demanding that a Black man leave the neighborhood before threatening him with physical violence.

According to the video, Pentland is heard telling the black man that he's "in the wrong neighborhood," The Associated Press reported.

The Black man protests that he was merely walking and not bothering anybody.

According to Shirell Johnson, who posted the video, it happened at The Summit in Columbia. It's unclear what started the conflict.

The AP reported that Pentland is a U.S. Army sergeant first class.

In the three-minute video, according to The AP, Pentland is seen demanding the man to leave the neighborhood, getting up in his face, and at one point, pushing him to the point, the man almost falls to the ground.