Man who stomped on another man’s chest during 2020 Columbia riots sent to prison

A Columbia man who was recorded on video stomping on the chest of a man during the 2020 riots after the George Floyd murder was sentenced Monday to 2.5 years in prison, after the Richland County sheriff and Columbia police chief asked the judge for the harshest penalty allowed.

Nicholas Fleming, 26, pleaded guilty last year to assault and battery.

Judge Walton McLeod handed down the sentence after a hearing, which included testimony from the victim’s father-in-law, Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott and Fleming’s mother.

“I told them I’m sorry. I’m asking for forgiveness,” Nicholas Fleming told the judge. “I didn’t hide, I owned up to my mistakes.”

On May 30, 2020, a downtown restaurant manager was on his cellphone talking with a business owner to see if it was safe for customers and his workers to leave. People in the crowd thought he was calling the police, Deputy Solicitor Dan Goldberg said.

A juvenile co-defendant, whose name has not been released because of his age, punched the victim, who then fell to the ground, suffering a concussion and a brain bleed.

“He hasn’t been quite the same since that incident,” said Deputy Solicitor Dan Goldberg. The victim suffered short-term memory loss, his father-in-law said.

Fleming was recorded on video stomping on the man’s chest.

“The man was in the most vulnerable position,” McLeod said.

Public Defender Robert Forney asked for probation saying Fleming is a student at Benedict College studying business administration and cares for his mother.

“He is not who he has been portrayed to be,” Forney said.

Holbrook and Lott, whose appearance during a sentencing hearing is unusual, asked that Fleming receive the maximum of three years in prison.

“At some point the people who participated in that riot should be held accountable,” Lott said.

Lott said the sentence was appropriate for the charge Fleming pleaded guilty to, but not appropriate for what happened on May 30, 2020.

Fleming was previously charged with with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, breach of peace aggravated in nature, rioting, unlawful carry of a weapon and violating probation.

He ultimately pleaded guilty to just assault and battery.

“The assault was a lot more vicious than what he pleaded. With what the judge had, the judge did the best,” Lott said.

Protests erupted around the country, including in Columbia, in May 2020 after a Minneapolis police officer murdered George Floyd by putting a knee on Floyd’s neck for more than 9 minutes.

The protest in Columbia turned violent as it moved from the State House to the Columbia Police Department headquarters. Police cars were set on fire and businesses were ransacked.

Holbrook called the riot the “darkest time” for the city.

“We understand emotions were very high,” Holbrook said.

Fleming brought a gun to the demonstrations, Lott said.

“Right there says that he’s not there for anything peaceful. You don’t bring a gun to a peaceful protest,” Lott said.