Latest news with #YemiMobolade
The Independent
23-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Colorado couple found guilty over cross burning meant to draw sympathy for Black candidate
A Colorado couple who burned a cross in front of a Black mayoral candidate's campaign sign to generate voter sympathy was convicted Friday of conveying false information about a threat. Prosecutors argued that although Ashley Blackcloud, who is indigenous and Black, and Derrick Bernard, who is Black, orchestrated and broadcast the hoax to aid the candidate, their actions still amounted to a criminal threat. The cross burning happened in 2023 during the run-up to the mayoral election in Colorado Springs, the state's second-largest city. Images and video of the episode were emailed to local news outlets to boost the campaign of Yemi Mobolade, now the city's first Black mayor. Blackcloud's attorney did not deny in the trial this week that she participated in setting up the cross burning and defacing the sign. Bernard denied participating but acknowledged during testimony that he disseminated the images even though he knew it was a hoax. Because cross burning is protected by the First Amendment, the case came down to whether the act was a threat. Prosecutors argued that even though Blackcloud's and Bernard's intention was to help Mobolade, he perceived the actions as a threat, with his family buying fire ladders and a medical trauma kit for their house. 'What was Yemi and his family supposed to see through the flames? A joke? Theater?' said Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bryan Fields. The defendants, he said, 'needed the public to believe this was a real threat in order for it to have the effect that they wanted of influencing an election.' Fields likened it to a student who calls in a fake bomb threat at a school in order to avoid taking a test, forcing the school to evacuate and causing other students anxiety. Blackcloud's defense attorney, Britt Cobb, said the cross burning was merely 'meant to be a political stunt, political theater' to show that racism was still present in Colorado Springs. Blackcloud 'did not mean this as a real threat of violence,' Cobb said. Cobb further argued that Mobolade knew it was a hoax early on, because his campaign staff said in text messages that they were confident it was staged and because Mobolade didn't immediately call the police. 'If he knows it's a hoax, there's no way its a threat,' she said. Mobolade has strongly denied any involvement, but Cobb suggested the politician knew something of the plans, citing communications between Bernard and Mobolade before and after the cross burning. The FBI's investigation did not determine that Mobolade had a role in the cross burning. 'You cannot maliciously convey a threat,' added Bernard's attorney, Tyrone Glover, 'when you're trying in your own way to help somebody.' ___
Associated Press
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Colorado couple found guilty over cross burning meant to draw sympathy for Black candidate
DENVER (AP) — A jury in Colorado found a couple guilty on Friday of conveying false information about a threat against a Black mayoral candidate when they burned a cross in front of his campaign sign, even though the couple was trying help the candidate by generating sympathy among voters. Prosecutors argued that Ashley Blackcloud, who is indigenous and Black, and Derrick Bernard, who is Black, orchestrated and then broadcast the hoax to aid the candidate. However their actions still amounted to a criminal threat, prosecutors said. The cross burning happened in 2023 during the run-up to the mayoral election in Colorado Springs, the state's second-largest city. Images and video of the episode were emailed to local news outlets to boost the campaign of Yemi Mobolade, who is now the city's first Black mayor. Blackcloud's attorney did not deny in the trial this week that she participated in setting up the cross burning and defacing the sign. Bernard denied participating but acknowledged during testimony that he disseminated the images even though he knew it was a hoax. Because cross burning is protected by the First Amendment, the case came down to whether the act was a threat. Prosecutors argued that even though Blackcloud's and Bernard's intention was to help Mobolade, he perceived the actions as a threat, with his family buying fire ladders and a medical trauma kit for their house. 'What was Yemi and his family supposed to see through the flames? A joke? Theater?' said Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bryan Fields. The defendants, he said, 'needed the public to believe this was a real threat in order for it to have the effect that they wanted of influencing an election.' Fields likened it to a student who calls in a fake bomb threat at a school in order to avoid taking a test, forcing the school to evacuate and causing other students anxiety. Blackcloud's defense attorney, Britt Cobb, said the cross burning was merely 'meant to be a political stunt, political theater' to show that racism was still present in Colorado Springs. Blackcloud 'did not mean this as a real threat of violence,' Cobb said. Cobb further argued that Mobolade knew it was a hoax early on, because his campaign staff said in text messages that they were confident it was staged and because Mobolade didn't immediately call the police. 'If he knows it's a hoax, there's no way its a threat,' she said. Mobolade has strongly denied any involvement, but Cobb suggested the politician knew something of the plans, citing communications between Bernard and Mobolade before and after the cross burning. The FBI's investigation did not determine that Mobolade had a role in the cross burning. 'You cannot maliciously convey a threat,' added Bernard's attorney, Tyrone Glover, 'when you're trying in your own way to help somebody.' ___ Bedayn is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Toronto Star
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Star
Trial begins over staged cross burning in front of campaign sign for Black candidate
DENVER (AP) — In the run-up to the 2023 mayoral election in Colorado Springs, a racial slur was scrawled across a Black candidate's sign and a cross set on fire in front of it. It was a stunt to generate sympathy and support for the Black candidate, Yemi Mobolade, prosecutors have said, and two people accused of staging it are on trial this week, charged with making a threat against him.
Toronto Star
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Star
Couple on trial over staged cross burning in front of campaign sign for Black candidate
DENVER (AP) — In the run-up to the 2023 mayoral election in Colorado Springs, a racial slur was scrawled across a Black candidate's sign and a cross set on fire in front of it. It was a stunt to generate sympathy and support for the Black candidate, Yemi Mobolade, prosecutors have said, and two people accused of staging it are on trial this week, charged with making a threat against him.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Couple set to go on trial over staged cross burning in front of campaign sign for Black candidate
DENVER (AP) — In the run-up to the 2023 mayoral election in Colorado Springs, a racial slur was scrawled across a Black candidate's sign and a cross set on fire in front of it. It was a stunt to generate sympathy and support for the Black candidate, Yemi Mobolade, prosecutors have said, but two people accused of staging it are set to go on trial Monday, charged with making a threat against him. Mobolade, the city's first Black mayor, is scheduled to testify in the case as a victim, according to court documents. But one of the defendants claims Mobolade himself was a participant in the plan to help him win. And the defendant's attorneys say their alleged actions were political theater — free speech that is constitutionally protected and wasn't meant to cause harm. "This was a hoax in every sense of the word,' defendant Ashley Blackcloud told The Associated Press. She said Mobolade knew in advance about their plans to burn the cross, but she would not comment further, citing a court order that bars discussing information gathered in the case before the trial. Blackcloud, who is indigenous and Black, said the stunt was not intended to hurt anyone. Mobolade has previously denied any involvement emphatically. A city spokesperson, Vanessa Zink, said the mayor did not want to want to make any additional comment. The second defendant — Blackcloud's husband, Derrick Bernard — is serving a life sentence after being convicted last year of ordering the killing of a rapper in Colorado Springs. The man charged with carrying out the killing was recently acquitted, and Bernard is appealing his conviction. Messages left for Blackcloud's lawyer and Bernard's lawyer were not returned. However, in motions to dismiss the case they pointed out that the cross was set on fire in the middle of the night, which no one other than the defendants apparently saw. They are, however, accused of spreading word about it in emails to the media and others that include images of the scene. They are each charged with using a means of interstate commerce — the internet and email — to make a threat and conveying false information about an attempt to intimidate Mobolade with a fire. They are also both charged with being part of a conspiracy to do that. They have pleaded not guilty. According to jury instructions in the case, prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Bernard and Blackcloud intended Mobolade to fear that violence would result in order for them to be found guilty. Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Regina M. Rodriguez ruled that the alleged actions are not ones that are clearly protected by the First Amendment, which would have required her to dismiss the case. 'It is up to the jury to determine whether the cross burning was a true threat or merely political speech,' she wrote. A third person indicted in the alleged scheme, Deanna West, pleaded guilty in March to one count of being part of a conspiracy to set the fire and then spread false information about it, under a plea agreement with prosecutors. According to that agreement, West's lawyer and government prosecutors agreed that the conspiracy's goal was to interfere in the campaign of Mobolade's opponent and create the belief that Mobolade was being discouraged from running because of his race. West is also scheduled to testify for the government. According to the indictment, Bernard communicated with Mobolade before the cross burning on April 23, 2023, and after Mobolade won election in a May 6, 2023, runoff. About a week before the cross burning, Bernard told the then-candidate in a Facebook message that he was 'mobilizing my squadron in defense and for the final push. Black ops style big brother. The klan cannot be allowed to run this city again.' They spoke for about five minutes on the telephone three days after the incident. In a video statement posted on social media in December, Mobolade said he had fully cooperated with the investigation and had been truthful with law enforcement. 'I fully and truthfully cooperated throughout this investigation. I had no knowledge, warning or involvement in this crime,' he said. The U.S. Attorney's Office for Colorado, which is prosecuting the case, declined to comment on whether it had questioned or investigated Mobolade about whether he was involved in the cross burning.
