Protesters Surround House Believed to Be Army Sergeant's Seen on Video Harassing Black Man

On Thursday, a social media video showed protesters outside the home of a white man who was captured on video aggressively pushing and harassing a Black man on a sidewalk Monday in a South Carolina neighborhood.

The alleged aggressor is reported to be U.S. Army sergeant first class Jonathan Pentland, whose social media accounts showed Pentland has been stationed as a drill sergeant at Fort Jackson since 2019, according to the Associated Press.

According to multiple reports, Pentland has been arrested and charged with third-degree assault.

In the video, a Black female masked protester outside of what believed to be Pentland's home, shouts, "We just want to talk, we want to understand some things, that's it. What you gonna do? You gonna stay in here every day?"

"No justice, no peace!" another protester can be heard shouting in the background.

The three-minute video was first posted to Facebook on Monday by Shirrell Johnson and had been shared around 17,000 times. It also has been shared widely on Twitter and it does not capture what prompted the altercation.

On Facebook, Johnson identified the Black man as "Deandre," and said that the incident occurred in the Summit, a housing development near the city of Columbia, South Carolina, where Johnson said the man lives.

Initially, the video shows the man, reportedly Pentland, asking Deandre what he is doing in the neighborhood before repeatedly telling him to "go away."

Deandre tells him to call the police, and a woman who is identified by the aggressor as his wife says that they have already been called.

Then, the man is seen shoving Deandre.

"Walk away!" he screams. "I need you to walk away, or I'm going to carry your a** out of here."

Afterward, Deandre, who remains calm throughout the video, says, "You better not touch me," which prompts the aggressor to ask, "Or what? What are you going to do?"

"You're in the wrong neighborhood m*****f*****," he said before adding that Deandre was harassing the neighborhood while continuing to threaten him to leave.

According to the Associated Press, Johnson did not respond to a request for additional details about the video.

Johnson wrote on Facebook that a young lady recorded the video for Deandre's safety and authorized Johnson to post it. She mentioned a second instance of assault not captured on video in which the man believed to be Pentland slapped Deandre's phone out of his hand and shattered it.

When an officer arrived on the scene and was informed by Johnson and the woman who recorded the video that Deandre was assaulted, the officer said that the man could only be charged with malicious injury to property and not assault, according to Johnson.

"The only thing he did was be black while walking!!!," Johnson wrote, concluding her post.

After @Angry_Staffer tweeted on Tuesday, "Hey @fortjackson / @fortjacksoncg, do you condone this behavior from Staff Sergeant Pentland?," Fort Jackson and its Commanding Brig. Gen. Milford H. Beagle Jr. issued a reaction.

"This type of behavior is not consistent with our Army Values and will not be condoned," the account for Fort Jackson said on Twitter and Facebook on Wednesday, noting that they are aware of the video.

"We will get to the bottom of this ASAP," Beagle responded to @Angry_Staffer on Tuesday.

Pentland was transferred by the Richland County Sheriff's Department to Fort Jackson authorities late Wednesday evening, according to Fort Jackson Media Relations Officer Leslie Ann Sully who provided an update to Newsweek on Thursday.

He has been suspended from his instructor duties amid the ongoing investigation.

"Soldier conduct on and off duty must be exemplary to retain the trust of our communities and our nation," said Beagle, according to the update. "Fort Jackson continues to work with and support Sheriff Lott, our local law enforcement professionals, and community & civil leadership as this case moves forward."

Fort Jackson is the largest U.S. Army basic training base.

Correction, 4/26/2021, 10:45 a.m. ET: An earlier version of this story identified Pentland as a U.S. Army staff sergeant. He is a U.S. Army sergeant first class.

Correction, 4/15/2021, 1:50 p.m. ET: An earlier version of this story identified Pentland as a staff sergeant captain. He is a staff sergeant.

Update: This story has been updated to include information about Pentland's status from Fort Jackson media relations.