Supporters flocked toward Yemi Mobolade, Colorado Springs’ first Black mayor, when he was in the running following what appeared to be a serious racial threat. However, the threat in question may have been less of a threat and more of a cruel campaign strategy, police say.
Deanna West pleaded guilty in Denver federal court to the 2023 incident. Prosecutors claim West was one of three conspirators who staged a cross burning and sent photos and videos of it to the news and local organizations as if it was an attack targeting Mobolade, NBC reports.
West’s plea says the motive behind the hate crime hoax was to gather sympathy points for Mobolade’s campaign, painting him as the victim of racial violence and sparking outrage on his behalf.
The report says one of the alleged conspirators messaged Mobolade ahead of the incident saying they were “mobilizing their squadron in defense and for the final push in the end.” Court documents also say the two had a five-minute conversation following the cross-burning.
While Mobolade he did indeed win the May 2023 election after the hoax went viral, he denied having any knowledge of the incident.
Attorneys for West’s co-defendants claimed their actions were the likes of “political theater” and were protected by their First Amendment rights to free speech, the report says. They also argued that no one was threatened by the cross burning as only the defendants bore witness to it.
That argument didn’t help West any given she was charged with conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud the United States and using instrumentalities of interstate commerce to maliciously convey false information to intimidate someone by means of fire, per KOAA News5.
West faces a maximum of five years in prison. Her two buddies are still awaiting trial, the report says.