Colorado Springs mayor testifies in cross-burning trial: ‘It felt very targeted against me’

This photo shows a racist scene that federal prosecutors say was staged by supporters of Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade during the campaign Photo provided by the U S Attorney s Office In the run-up to the mayoral referendum 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 promotion for the Black candidate Yemi Mobolade prosecutors have commented and on Monday the two people accused of staging it went on trial in U S District Court in Denver charged with making a threat against him Mobolade the city s first Black mayor took the stand as a victim It felt very targeted against me that symbol of hate that history of the Ku Klux KKK was now directed toward me mentioned Mobolade who appeared to get emotional in the courtroom when seeing the defaced campaign sign One of the defendant s attorneys argued their alleged actions were political theater free speech protected by the Constitution and not meant to cause harm The cross burning was not a true threat it was a stunt to draw attention to racism in Colorado Springs and mobilize voters for Mr Mobolade disclosed Britt Cobb who s representing defendant Ashley Blackcloud Blackcloud has claimed Mobolade himself was a participant in the plan telling The Associated Press this was a hoax in every sense of the word She noted Mobolade knew in advance about their plans to burn the cross but Blackcloud would not comment further citing a court order that bars discussing information in the matter before the trial Blackcloud who is indigenous and Black disclosed the stunt was not intended to hurt anyone Assistant U S Attorney Candyce Cline argued Monday that to the rest of the world and to the man whose name is on that sign this is exactly what it appears to be a threat a true threat a threat that violence is to come Mobolade has denied any knowledge of the defendants plans and testified Monday that he learned about the cross burning after it happened He s expected to face questions from defense attorneys on Tuesday The second defendant Blackcloud s husband Derrick Bernard who jail records identify as Black 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 in recent days acquitted and Bernard is appealing his conviction Derrick Bernard was not present at the cross burning he did not plan it and he did not direct it reported his attorney Tyrone Glover in opening statements Cobb in court 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 interstate commerce the internet and email to make a threat and convey 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 For Bernard and Blackcloud to be revealed guilty prosecutors must prove they intended Mobolade to fear that violence would aftermath from their actions according to jury instructions in the situation Earlier this month U S District Judge Regina M Rodriguez ruled that the alleged actions are not clearly protected by the First Amendment which would have required her to dismiss the circumstance 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 ruling body 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 executive According to the indictment Bernard communicated with Mobolade before the cross burning on April and after Mobolade won the balloting in a May runoff Related Articles Couple set to go on trial over staged Colorado Springs cross burning in front of campaign sign for Black candidate Woman pleads guilty in cross-burning hoax during Colorado Springs mayoral campaign Colorado Springs cross-burning hoax was free speech not a threat accused participant argues About a week before the cross burning Bernard described 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 case In a video declaration posted on social media in December Mobolade disclosed he had fully cooperated with the review and had been truthful with law enforcement I fully and truthfully cooperated throughout this assessment I had no knowledge warning or involvement in this crime he commented Sign up to get crime news sent straight to your inbox each day