Disturbing Incident at Rural King in North Carolina: Video Captures Black Man in Chokehold as White Men Prevent Him from Leaving

Disturbing Incident at Rural King in North Carolina: Video Captures Black Man in Chokehold as White Men Prevent Him from Leaving

A deeply disturbing video circulating on social media shows white men surrounding and one of them placing a Black man, identified as Renard Kiah Legette Edwards in a chokehold while his girlfriend, Isis Bell, desperately attempts to intervene.

The video, was shared on Facebook by 19-year-old Jacob Isaiah Evans, who took Edwards “I can’t breathe” as a joke, referencing the comments George Floyd yelled out as Derek Chauvin, kneeled on his neck, killing him.

Incident Details at Rural King in North Caroline

The incident reportedly occurred at Rural King, located at 508 10th St NW K, Conover, NC on Tuesday, January 7, 2025.  Employees failed to intervene as the confrontation unfolded.

In the video, Edwards is seen on the ground, his girlfriend trying to defend him from the men. A man wearing a plaid shirt and glasses grabs Edwards by the neck, moments later forcing Edwards to the floor in a chokehold.

Edwards Pleads for Help as Chaos Unfolds

While restrained, Edwards repeatedly shouts, “I can’t breathe,” as the group of men stand idly by. Isis can be heard saying she’s going to get something that we couldn’t make out, however, Edwards begs her not to leave, calling out, “Bae, don’t leave me.”

An employee at the scene can be heard telling Isis and Edwards to leave the store. However, Isis points out that the men were preventing them from doing so.

Accusations of Theft and Continued Restraint

At one point, employees claimed Edwards and Isis were stealing, which allegedly justified the men’s actions. Rather than intervening to de-escalate, the employees appeared to condone the restraint.

As the video progresses, the man in the plaid shirt grabs Edwards by the neck again, even after Edwards tries to stand. Isis tries to free her boyfriend while the group continues to surround him.

Police Arrive but Fail to Offer Assistance

When Conover Police arrived on the scene, they immediately detained Edwards without offering medical assistance. Edwards alleged that the group had tried to kill him and had stolen his phone.

The video will tell you the rest.

WATCH IT BELOW Black man choked at Rural King:

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After posting the video, Evans said he was glad that the “community” was there to “stop this shit,” referring to Edwards, who was being attacked, and Isis, who was doing everything she could to free Edwards from the men.

“They could’ve just let them run out with a buggy full of Milwaukee tools like Walmart would have done, but no, we didn’t… nobody did,” Evans said.

He continued to justify the men attacking the Black couple by saying people were angry because he called them animals, pointing out Isis’s actions as if she was supposed to just sit there and let them kill her boyfriend.

“DID YOU SEE THE WOMAN IN THE VIDEO, SWINGING AND GRABBING ON EVERYBODY?” HE ASKED. “THEY WERE DETAINED AND PUT UNDER CITIZEN’S ARREST.”

Returning to George Floyd, Evans, in his ignorance, said that Floyd died from drugs and not as a result of Derek Chauvin’s actions, ignoring the fact that Chauvin was convicted of killing Floyd. We knew this incident was racially motivated when Evans said:

“But…you come to a small town and do shit like this…you’re going to fuck around and find out.”

Just check out the video below:

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The North Carolina Beat has reached out to Rural King regarding their employees’ behavior, as well as the Conover Police Department.