Viral video sparks outrage, renewing call for action on SC Hate Crime Bill
SULLIVAN’S ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - A shocking video filmed on Sullivan’s Island went viral, showing an alarming incident of racial profiling that has ignited outrage across the Lowcountry.
The video led to the arrest of the man involved, Sean-Micheal Emmrich Johnson, and sparked renewed concerns about racism, safety and the actions of local leaders to protect all residents - regardless of race.
In the footage, a man can be heard hurling racial slurs at individuals in their truck, targeting him for being Mexican and threatening to send him “back to Mexico,” throwing his phone and seizing his vehicle’s keys. The video struck a chord with the community, raising questions about whether enough is being done to protect minority groups.
You can watch the video with Spanish subtitles here.
“People are taking matters into their own hands”
The video has garnered millions of views on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. The incident itself has left many wondering if anything substantial will change.
Fernando Soto, founder of Nuestro Estado, a local Spanish-language news hub on Facebook, has been vocal in supporting the victims and addressing the larger issue at hand.
“Whether our local elected officials are actually going to do anything to protect everyone, including those that don’t look like them, remains to be seen,” Soto said. “It’s disheartening and concerning because the people that are being targeted are the people that look like me, the people that are brown.”
Push for a hate crime bill
Rep. Wendell Gilliard (D - Charleston) has been fighting for nearly a decade to pass a hate crime bill in South Carolina, which remains one of only two states without such legislation. The other is Wyoming.
The bill has cleared the House twice but failed in the Senate. Gilliard, however, remains determined.
“The time is right to always do what’s right,” Gilliard said. “And I’ve told my colleagues in Columbia if I have to come over and over and over and over… one day, this bill will become law.”
Community standing together
In North Charleston, a local barbershop, Change Up Cuts, has become a safe space for the Latino community.
Barber Josue Lorenzo says his clients come for haircuts but leave feeling like family.
“To feel protected, to feel like family? It’s the greatest thing in the world,” Lorenzo said. “Out there people are walking around in fear on the street, or going to work, or taking their kids to school… here we understand and are family.”
Despite these efforts, the fight for a hate crime law continues. While local leaders like North Charleston Police Chief Ron Camacho and Mayor Reggie Burgess have participated in community forums held at the barbershop. They declined Live 5’s request for comment on their specific commitments to improving Latino safety in the Lowcountry.
A call for change
As the Sullivan’s Island video continues to fuel discussions, Rep. Gilliard emphasizes that South Carolina must take action to prevent further hate-fueled incidents. He recalls the brutal killing of Senator Clementa C. Pinckney and eight others nine years ago in Mother Emmanuel AME Church downtown.
“People are still having nightmares, people are still wanting to know: why don’t we have a hate crime law in South Carolina?” Gilliard said. “It’s almost like we have a state that’s been recognized only by hate and it’s time we practice what we preach.”
“How soon we forget that Charleston was the center of a horrific massacre in 2015 and not having passed this hate crime bill continues to allow this type of behavior,” Gilliard continued. “I’d love to think something so terrible could never happen again, but if we don’t act, we are allowing it, and I mean let’s face it, right is right and wrong is wrong. That certain viral incident really could have gone any type of way, thank God no one got hurt this time.”
Rep. Gilliard says one thing, one senator, Majority Leader Sen. Shane Massey (R - Edgefield) is preventing the Clementa C. Pinckney Hate Crime Bill from passing the Senate. Live 5 reached out to Sen. Massey’s office several times for comment but received no response.
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