South Carolina officials have asked a judge to force a white couple to move out of their home after they reportedly burned a cross near the residence of their Black Army veteran neighbours.
Special prosecutor James Battle argued in a motion filed on 26 January that Conway residents Worden Butler and Alexis Hartnett “harassed, assaulted, and threatened their neighbours and people in the public areas surrounding their home.”
Fifteenth Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson has requested a temporary injunction, asking the court to declare the suspects’ home a public nuisance.
Mr Butler, 28, and Ms Hartnett, 27, were arrested on state charges of harassment and later released on bond after their retired neighbours, Monica and Shawn Williams, recorded video of the cross being burned near their yard fence on Thanksgiving weekend.
The Williams had been celebrating the holidays and had family over when the attack unfolded.
According to a police report, Ms Harett allegedly directed a racist slur at the Williams while being interviewed by police.