South Carolina men accused of targeting Hispanic shoppers indicted on federal hate crime charges

Two men in South Carolina have been indicted on federal hate crime charges in connection with robberies targeting Hispanic customers outside gas stations and a Mexican grocery store.

Charles Antonio Clippard, 26, and Michael Joseph Knox, 28, are accused of forcibly taking cash, cellphones and, in one instance, a car after following shoppers to their homes and holding them at gunpoint in 2021, according to a federal grand jury indictment issued Monday. The Columbia-area men intentionally picked victims they identified as Mexican or Hispanic, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release.

"The indictment alleges that the defendants committed three armed robberies as part of the conspiracy, including one carjacking, because of the victims' race and national origin and because those individuals were using places of public accommodation," the Justice Department said.