A South Orange County couple who were arrested for assault after their racially-charged encounter with a solar panel worker went viral on TikTok in 2025 were convicted on Tuesday.
State Attorney Monique Worrell, on Wednesday, trumpeted the conviction and promoted the Ninth Judicial Circuit’s Hate Crime Task Force.
“When crimes occur, we will get involved, and we will prosecute because people don’t have a right to place other people in fear,” Worrell said.
Steven Edwin Wiley and Cheryl Ann Pyle were found guilty of assault evidencing prejudice for the July 2025 incident.
Wiley and Pyle were seen on camera coming out of the home toward the worker, Antavius Johnson, using various expletives and racially charged language.
“Get your Black (expletive) the (expletive) out of here,” the man could be heard saying on the video, which Johnson took. “You come back again, I’m gonna hang you.”
[WATCH: Orange County couple accused of assaulting canvasser after viral TikTok video]
In an interview with News 6 last year, Johnson said that he tried to go to the nearest neighbor’s house, but Pyle and Wiley followed him.
Johnson, joining Worrell at the news conference on Wednesday, choked up while talking about the case.
“I want to say, even though the case is over with this incident, it’s not just words. I still have to live with this trauma from having PTSD, and anxiety break out. I just want most people to know that…” Johnson said.
The charge Wiley and Pyle were convicted of, assault evidencing prejudice, is a hate crime enhancement in Florida.
Worrell said Wiley and Pyle tried to argue they were exercising their First Amendment right to free speech, but a jury disagreed.
“A jury here in Orange County rendered a verdict that sent a message to the citizens of this place that hate speech will not be tolerated, and in fact, it will be prosecuted. That conviction is a clear statement that this conduct is criminal and not just offensive,” Worrell said.
What is the Hate Crimes Task Force?
The Ninth Judicial Circuit’s hate crime task force was first formed in 2024 using a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, under former State Attorney Andrew Bain.
The task force’s goal is to increase public awareness and reporting, and facilitate investigations.
The program includes an online reporting system on the state attorney’s office website. Worrell says the task force was not really tracking the prevalence of hate crimes before, but is now.
Worrell’s office is partnering with the Peace and Justice Institute, which has held training sessions for both law enforcement and with prosecuting attorneys. PJI will also be hosting community forums over the next year so the public can learn more about hate crime laws and how to report them.
Rachel Allen, executive director of PJI, said that the group was also working on a pilot program that would help nonviolent offenders in hate crimes.
“So this project also includes a pilot project for nonviolent offenses for the victims and perpetrators to be able to come together in a restorative justice process that is in development,” Allen said.
While Worrell hopes the pilot program and other task force initiatives will lead to a more “harmonious” community, she is pragmatic.
“I would love to say it would be great if we could all love each other, but that’s just not realistic. We aren’t all going to love each other, but we do have to allow each other our rights to live without being in fear,” Worrell said.