Federal prosecutors last week indicted three people on charges of staging a hate crime involving the n-word and a burning cross to help a left-wing candidate get elected mayor of Colorado Springs.
Prosecutors say Derrick Bernard, Ashley Blackcloud, and Deanna West, who were affiliated with a self-styled “minority-owned independent broadcasting and multimedia organization,” wrote the racial slur on a campaign sign for black candidate Yemi Mobolade, erected and ignited a cross in front of it, photographed it, and sent it to the media in order to boost Mobolade’s candidacy.
The hoax came after Mobolade and Wayne Williams, a white Republican, nearly tied in an April 2023 election, triggering a runoff election the following month. Public opinion changed significantly before the runoff, with local news calling it a “stunning turn of events” that Mobolade won with 58%. He is now mayor of Colorado’s second-largest city.
After Mobolade won the runoff election, Bernard allegedly texted him saying “we got you through it all brother.” He texted Blackcloud suggesting he expected favors from Mobolade, sending a link to city job openings and saying “I want favors quicker than later.”
A day after the first election, Bernard wrote to Blackcloud “Ima just talk to you bout a few plans,” then texted candidate Mobolade on April 13 to say “I spoke with some of my friends in other places and theirs [sic] a plot amidst,” according to the indictment.
Bernard allegedly texted Blackcloud that “they ain’t tryna let an African win” but “I got a plan.”
Early in the morning on April 23, the trio allegedly staged the hate crime and emailed photographs to Mobolade and media outlets from an anonymous email address. The email attempted to use the fake hate crime to turn out black voters, writing that the “target of any one hate crime is not just the direct victim, but also anyone who shares the victim’s targeted identity.”
At 7:30 p.m. that same night, Bernard texted Mobolade, “I guarantee the finish,” referring to a message saying he needed support to get to the finish line of his campaign, the indictment says.
On April 25, Bernard texted Mobolade, “Brother some foul stuff came up I’m [sic] our email.” The next day, he spoke with him on the phone for five minutes, the indictment notes.
The media bit on the story. KDVR wrote, “in the midst of the tight race, racially charged messaging has surfaced seemingly targeting the West African immigrant.” It quoted an NAACP official, Rashad Younger, saying that the NAACP spoke to Mobolade’s campaign, which said it was “assuming this is a hoax,” but that the NAACP was treating it as real, anyway. Angela Stevens, the president of the Colorado Springs NAACP, said “we are looking at this as voter intimidation…Do we believe that it’s a hoax? Personally, we do not.”
The Daily Wire asked a spokeswoman for Mayor Mobolade whether he was aware of the scheme, what he thought Bernard was referring to when he said he had a “plot amidst,” why he thought Bernard “guaranteed” his victory, what they spoke about on the phone, why his campaign indicated to the NAACP that it was a hoax, why Bernard would think he was owed “favors” by Mobolade, and whether he sought or was given any.
Colorado Springs spokeswoman Vanessa Zink replied with a statement from Mobolade.
“That incident during my campaign led to a very traumatic time for my family, my campaign team, and our community. My knowledge and interaction with Bernard was as a local media personality, and I was not aware at the time that he was suspected of this crime. I appreciate local and federal law enforcement’s work in pursuing justice and sending a message that we will not tolerate such reprehensible behavior.”
The trio is charged with making false statements and threats using interstate commerce, having used the internet to make searches like “contact news about a story,” “kkk email,” and “candidates racist acts during campaign.”
Since allegedly staging the fake hate crime, Bernard was sentenced to life in prison for an unrelated murder in Texas. West is a fugitive, while Blackcloud is in custody.
That elsection should be null. No way that guy won colorado springs.
So the Dems got away with another fake racial crime scheme. I’m really sick and tired of the Dems playing racial games for stealing elections. There needs to be a new Federal Law that states that if caught committing voter fraud in any capacity, you get a mandatory ten years with no time off for good behavior.
Blue State vs Red State