S.C. Men Allegedly Targeted Hispanic Victims for Robberies, Now Face Hate Crime Charges: Prosecutors

Charles Antonio Clippard and Michael Joseph Knox allegedly spotted their victims at stores and followed them to their homes to rob them, prosecutors say

Two South Carolina men are facing hate crimes charges for allegedly carrying out robberies and assaults on people because of the victims' Hispanic identities, according to the Department of Justice.

Charles Antonio Clippard, 26, and Michael Joseph Knox, 28, are facing three counts of hate crime charges along with carjacking and firearms charges in connection with a series of alleged attacks carried out between January 2021 and February 2021, according to a DOJ statement.

According to the indictment against them, Clippard and Knox allegedly targeted the men with the intention to commit “death and serious bodily harm.” On several occasions, they were assisted by other attackers as well, the documents allege.

The indictment alleges that on one occasion in January 2021, Clippard and Knox targeted two individuals as they shopped at the grocery store Supermercado El Mariachi, in Columbia, S.C.

They allegedly chose to target the victims, identified only as John Doe 1 and John Doe 2 in the indictment, based on their races. The suspects allegedly followed the victims to their homes and robbed them, taking their cash and cell phones.

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A few days later, they went to a gas station to rob victims that they “identified as Mexican and Hispanic,” the indictment alleges.

They allegedly followed a victim, identified as John Doe 3 in court documents, to his home and then robbed him at gunpoint, taking his passport, wallet and car, according to the indictment.

On the same day, they allegedly carried out a similar attack on another victim they identified as Mexican and followed him to his house from another gas station, the indictment claims.

They “held [a] firearm to his head” and then “pushed [him] into his residence” and robbed him and “other Hispanic victims” at the location, the indictment alleges.

The two could face a maximum of 25 years for the hate-crime and carjacking charges, and minimum 21 years for the firearms charges, according to the DOJ statement.

It's not immediately clear if either suspect has retained an attorney or entered pleas to the charges.

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