CHARLOTTE, N.C. — One of the two people accused of burning a cross to intimidate their Black neighbors in South Carolina over Thanksgiving weekend is now being confined to their home.
Alexia Hartnett was placed on home detention by a judge after being arrested on obscene exposure this weekend, according to WMBF-TV.
Hartnett and Worden Butler are accused of targetting their Black neighbors when they burned a cross outside their Horry County home.
Monica Williams said she and her family were the targets of Butler and Hartnett's alleged harassment. Williams and her husband live in Charlotte and bought a house in Horry County with plans to retire there.
"We saved, we worked really hard," Williams said speaking to WCNC Charlotte previously.
Williams said they experienced repeated harassment, threats, and a burning cross at their house over Thanksgiving weekend.
"My neighbors that did this to us had called us all kinds of racial terms and epithets the day before," Williams recalled.
Butler and Hartnett were arrested for harassment and bailed out the next day. Since then, the only neighborhood Williams feels safe in is Charlotte.
"It has been traumatic and we're still trying to process all of that," Williams shared.
After a solicitor requested a judge issue a temporary injunction last year, Williams called the petition a step in the right direction but she's afraid of retaliation.
"I'm not willing to put my family, my grandchildren at risk for that," Williams said.
That’s exactly why she’s rallying for South Carolina to pass a hate crime law, which would worsen penalties for crimes motivated by someone’s race, religion, gender, or background.
South Carolina is one of only two states without a hate crime law.
Williams said she and her husband are working to create a nonprofit called Peace After Fire that will focus on eradicating racism.
Hartnett missed her most recent court appearance citing medical reasons, according to court records reviewed by WCNC Charlotte.