COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCBD) – The family of a non-commissioned Army officer at Fort Jackson was removed from their home Wednesday night after protests turned violent.
The officer, identified as Jonathan Pentland, was arrested and charged with third-degree assault on Wednesday morning after a viral video showing him aggressively confronting a Black man walking through his neighborhood, The Summit.
Pentland told the man he was “in the wrong neighborhood,” and the video showed Pentland pushing the man. According to the Richland County Sheriff’s Office report, Pentland also slapped the man’s phone out of his hand and stomped on it.
Fort Jackson officials have said that they are aware of the video and that his behavior is not reflective of the base or the Army.
Dozens of peaceful protesters gathered outside the home Wednesday afternoon and marched around the neighborhood chanting about justice and inequality.
But it was later in the evening when deputies say the peaceful protest grew rowdy.
Deputies with the Richland County Sheriff’s Office responded to the home just before 8:30 p.m. after 911 received calls about the protesters vandalizing Pentland’s home.
According to an incident report, a hammer was thrown into a second-floor window. Three people were upstairs at the time. Several other objects – like cases of bottled water – were also thrown at the home, the report stated.
A light fixture attached to the home near the garage was also broken, and one person was seen striking the home, driveway and the light fixture with a silver baseball bat.
An unknown substance was also splattered on the drive way and garage door.
The Richland County Sheriff’s Office and Department of Justice are investigating.
