Among the crimes they admitted being a January 22, 2021, armed robbery where they followed victims from a grocery store and restaurant to their home, ultimately robbing them at gunpoint and stealing cash and a cellphone.
Two men from South Carolina have pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Columbia to federal hate crime and other charges related to a series of racially motivated armed robberies targeting Hispanic victims.
Court documents reveal that from January to February 2021, Charles Antonio Clippard, 27, and Michael Joseph Knox, 29, both residents of Columbia, conspired to rob individuals they identified as Mexican or Hispanic at various public locations, including gas stations and grocery stores. The defendants targeted these victims based on their race and national origin, using firearms to carry out the robberies.
“These defendants targeted Hispanic victims for violent acts of armed robbery because of their race, national origin and perceived vulnerability,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
Among the crimes they admitted being a January 22, 2021, armed robbery where they followed victims from a grocery store and restaurant to their home, ultimately robbing them at gunpoint and stealing cash and a cellphone. They also confessed to another armed robbery and carjacking on January 30, 2021, after tracking a Hispanic victim from a gas station to his residence. In total, the men pleaded guilty to three hate crime charges, one count of carjacking, one count of conspiracy, and two firearms charges.
“While these defendants sparked fear for an entire community by targeting members of our Hispanic community, today’s hearing sends a louder message: we will not tolerate bias-based crimes in South Carolina,” said U.S. Attorney Adair Ford Boroughs for the District of South Carolina.
Two other co-conspirators, Gabriel Brunson, 21, and Sierra Fletcher, 34, also from Columbia, previously pleaded guilty to similar charges of hate crime, conspiracy, and firearms offenses. Clippard and Knox face a mandatory minimum of 14 years in prison for the firearms charges, up to 10 years for each hate crime count, and a maximum of 15 years for the carjacking count. Their plea agreements also require them to pay restitution to all victims.
“Clippard and Knox egregiously sought to exploit and intimidate their victims based on their Hispanic ethnicity,” said Special Agent in Charge Steve Jensen of the FBI Columbia Field Office. “Their violent robberies instilled fear in their victims and innocent working people within the Hispanic community. These criminal acts have no place in our society, and we are committed to ensuring the safety of all individuals, regardless of their background.”
The case was investigated by the FBI Columbia Field Office, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Columbia Police Department, Town of Lexington Police Department, and Richland County Sheriff’s Department. A federal district court judge will determine the sentencing after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
“These defendants used violent acts of armed robbery to purposely target Hispanic victims simply because of their race,” said Assistant Director Chad Yarbrough of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division. “We hope the guilty plea by these two defendants serves notice that violence borne from hate will never be tolerated in our communities. The FBI remains steadfast in its mission to uphold the Constitution and protect the civil rights of everyone, fairly and equally.”
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