“This cross burning was an abhorrent act that used a traditional symbol of hatred and violence to stoke fear and drive a Black family out of their home.” – US Department of Justice. Axel Cox, a white supremacist in Mississippi, was sentenced to 42 months in prison for a federal hate crime after pleading guilty to unlawfully intimidating his Black neighbors. The incident occurred last year when Cox burned a cross in the front yard of their home, violating the Fair Housing Act and prompting an investigation by the Department of Justice. In a bold display of racism, Cox built a large cross and set it alight while hurling racial slurs at his black neighbors in order to force them out of the neighborhood, according to reports from federal prosecutors. Two pieces of wood were wedged together before dousing it with oil and setting it ablaze for all within view to see – leaving no doubt as to the motives behind this act. “This cross burning was an abhorrent act that used a traditional symbol of hatred and violence to stoke fear and drive a Black family out of their home,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “While one might think cross-burnings and white supremacist threats and violence are things of the past, the unfortunate reality is that these incidents continue today. This sentence demonstrates the importance of holding people accountable for threatening the safety and security of Black people in their homes because of the color of their skin or where they are from.”
via theblackwallstrtimes: White Supremacist Sentenced for Burning Cross in Black Family’s Yard