A man from Mississippi will spend three and a half years in prison for intimidating a black family by burning a cross in their front yard.
Axel Cox, 24, pleaded guilty in December last year to committing a hate crime and violating the Fair Housing Act. He was sentenced on Thursday, March 9, in connection to the cross-burning incident that occurred in December 2020, according to the US Department of Justice (DOJ).
The DOJ released a statement that Cox admitted to the jury that he knew the house owners were black and after a dispute with the occupants, decided to light a cross on fire in front of their home to force them to move out of that neighborhood.
According to the department, Cox built the cross in his home by wedging two pieces of wood together and covering them with oil before lighting them on fire in full view of the neighbors. Witnesses told the cops that Cox used threatening and racially derogatory language during the incident.
The Anti-Defamation League states that cross-burning is one of America’s most powerful hate symbols. The symbol was made popular in the 1900s by the Ku Klux Klan.
The judge set Cox’s prison term to three and a half years, after which he will have a supervised release for the next three years. The court also ordered the man to pay $7,810 in restitution to the black family.
Cross-burning is not as prevalent as it was during the civil rights years, but the department has found itself prosecuting a few cases across the country in recent years.
Another Mississippi man, Louis Revette, was sentenced to 11 years for cross burning in 2019 after admitting that he intentionally placed the cross in a predominantly black neighborhood.
In 2021, a Virginia man was sentenced to 18 months for burning a cross on a black family’s property. The victims had reportedly attended a civil rights march the previous day, prompting the hateful action.
US Attorney Darren LaMarca said nobody should have to deal with such hatred and intimidation because of their race.