The Klan, Patriot Front and white nationalist groups in South Carolina

Public records document Ku Klux Klan flyering and a 2015 Statehouse rally, Patriot Front propaganda and a March 1, 2025 Statehouse march, and SPLC listings of Patriot Front, the Proud Boys and other white nationalist groups in South Carolina. Federal prosecutions in the District of South Carolina include the Emanuel AME Church case against Dylann Roof and later cases in which defendants expressed white supremacist views or sought help from white supremacist organizations. [1][2][3][4][5][6]

Key South Carolina cases

On July 22, 2015, a federal grand jury in South Carolina returned a 33-count indictment against Dylann Storm Roof for hate crime and firearms charges for the June 17, 2015 killings at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston. A federal jury convicted him on December 15, 2016 and sentenced him to death on January 10, 2017. The Fourth Circuit affirmed on August 25, 2021; the opinion states that Roof called himself a "white nationalist" when interviewed by agents. [7][8][4]

Benjamin Thomas Samuel McDowell of Conway pleaded guilty on February 28, 2018 to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and was sentenced on July 11, 2018 to 33 months. The USAO stated that he expressed admiration for Dylann Roof on social media and that an FBI undercover agent posed as a member of a white supremacist organization. Brandon Cory Lecroy of Greenwood was sentenced on April 12, 2019 to ten years for murder for hire with a hate crime enhancement. The USAO stated that he contacted a white supremacist organization seeking help to kill his African American neighbor and requested a "flaming cross" in the neighbor's yard. [5][9][6]

On August 23, 2011, the USAO announced the guilty plea of a defendant formerly of Lexington County in a VA pension case, describing him as a national leader in the Aryan Nations white supremacist movement. On June 29, 2021, James Giannakos of Gilbert was sentenced to 28 months for interstate threats against a former federal prosecutor; WIS reported that the threats followed her public comments about Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and did not state that Giannakos was a member. [10][11]

Inside SCDC

The USAO stated on July 11, 2018 that McDowell "established White Supremacy Extremist connections while serving in prison." The release does not name the institution. No other public source opened for this profile documents Klan, Patriot Front, Proud Boys or white nationalist group activity inside SCDC facilities. [9]

Where it stands

The most recent South Carolina event in sources opened for this profile is the March 1, 2025 Patriot Front march on the Statehouse, which the Post and Courier described as the group's most visible demonstration in Columbia in recent memory. The newest SPLC listing opened, from 2023, names no Klan group in South Carolina. [2][3]

The full profile, with every source, the county records and a dated timeline, is on the group page.