A Florida couple at the centre of a viral racist incident has been formally charged after a video showed them unleashing a barrage of racial slurs and threats at a Black canvasser. The confrontation, which took place in late July in the Hunter’s Creek area of Orange County, involved Steven Edwin Wiley and Cheryl Ann Pyle.
The footage, posted on TikTok by solar utility canvasser Antavis Johnson, showed Wiley and Pyle storming out of their home and verbally attacking him as he worked in the neighbourhood. In the video, Wiley can be heard shouting violent, racially-charged threats including, “Get your Black a** the f*** out of here,” and “You come back again, I’m gonna hang you,” along with other slurs. Pyle echoed his insults.
@3busted_mindjizzzzThey keep taking my video down!! Thanks for the support 🏆🏆💐💐 #fyp#wthelly #viral
The clip quickly racked up more than 13 million views before it was later removed. Johnson said the situation escalated to the point where he sought help from nearby residents, but the couple continued to follow him.
“I was thinking about my daughter… I stayed as calm as possible so it wouldn’t flip or I wouldn’t get in trouble,” Johnson told WESH, explaining that he didn’t want to risk the encounter turning violent or jeopardising his job.
According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, Wiley and Pyle later claimed that Johnson provoked them by swearing and making rude hand gestures. But deputies noted that Wiley continued using racist language even during their investigation.
Both now face hate-crime-related charges for the incident, officially listed as assault evidencing prejudice. Their court date is set for November 25.
The viral confrontation is far from their only legal trouble. Pyle was arrested in September for aggravated abuse of an elderly person, alleged to be her own stepmother. Wiley faces a string of separate felonies, including false imprisonment, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, felony battery, and domestic violence battery.
Both Wiley and Pyle remain behind bars as their cases proceed.
